•t^ §§f)iirteieflt 0f the Isterior, 

leacners Cottages 



B. 



R. S. Kellogg 
(In cooperation with tKe U. S. Bureau of Education; 




Published by 

Tke National Lumber Manufacturers Association 
Cliicago, Illinois 



January, 



1916 




Qass. 
Book 



Teachers Cottages 



BY 



R. S. KELLOGG 

(In cooperation with the U. S, Bureau of Education) 







PUBLISHED BY 



The National Lumber Manufacturers Association 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 

January, 1916 



l 






X 



D. of D. 
APR 14 1916 



CONTENTS 

Page 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 4 

THE PROBLEM IN RURAL EDUCATION 5 

THE TEACHER'S COTTAGE 7 

HOW IT SHOULD BE BUILT 11 

PLANS FOR COTTAGES 13 

The Washington Cottages 13 

The Radford Cottages 17 

AS A SOCIAL CENTER 21 

THE MISSION OF THE COUNTRY SCHOOL TEACHER 21 

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 23 

Alabama 23 

Arizona 23 

Arkansas 23 

California 25 

Colorado 25 

Connecticut 26 

Delaware 27 

Florida 27 

Georgia 27 

Idaho 27 

Illinois 28 

Indiana 29 

loAva 31 

Kansas 31 

Kentucky 31 

Louisiana 32 

Maine 32 

Maryland 33 

Massachusetts 33 

Michigan 33 

Minnesota 33 

Mississippi 37 

Missouri 37 

Montana 38 

Nebraska 38 

Nevada ' 39 

New Hampshire 39 

New Jersey 40 

New Mexico 40 

New York 40 

North Carolina , 40 

North Dakota 41 

Ohio 42 

Oklahoma 42 

Oregon 46 

Pennsylvania 46 

Rhode Island 46 

South Carolina 46 

South Dakota.. 49 

Tennessee , 4^ 

Texas 50 

Utah 53 

Vermont 53 

Virginia 54 

Washington 54 

West Virginia 56 

Wisconsin , 57 

Wyoming [ 57 

REFERENCES 58 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

The author acknowledges Avith much appreciation the great 
assistance given in the preparation of this bulletin by State and 
County Superintendents of Public Instruction, school principals, 
teachers and school board officers. Particularly helpful also have 
been the criticisms, suggestions, and information freely supplied by 
the United States Bureau of Education. Many of the reports upon 
teachers' cottages in the various states were compiled by Mr. J. 
C. Muerman, Specialist in Rural Education^ and are especially 
valuable in making this publication a somewhat complete survey of 
the present status of the teachers ' cottage movement in this country. 



Page Four 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES. 



THE PROBLEM IN RURAL EDUCATION. 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction of the state of Wash- 
ington, Mrs. Josephine Corliss Preston, states a vital problem in a 
few words, when she says : 

"The greatest problem in education today is the rural 
school. The greatest need is for teachers with initiative, leader- 
ship, experience, high ideas, character, broad sympathy and 
education. Where shall we get them?" 

There are more than 200,000 rural school districts in the United 
States, and over 16,000,000 children of school age who either live 
in the country or in towns of less than 2,500 population. In a large 
number of these districts it is absolutely impossible to get and keep 
teachers of the character so well stated by Mrs. Preston. Practically 
one-third of the rural teachers in the United States have had no 
professional preparation for their work. An examination of the 
conditions quickly shows the reasons for the acknowledged failure 
of rural education to keep pace with the progress in city schools. ^ 

In the usual country school district, no residence is supposed 
to be beyond walking distance from the schoolhouse. However, it 
is very largely a matter of chance as to whether any of the scattered 
farm houses are close enough to the school to be convenient for the 
teacher, and a still greater matter of chance as to whether a farm 
house so located has room enough to take care of a teacher, or occu- 
pants who desire a boarder. Many farm houses have no accommo- 
dations whatever for a teacher, and often kitchen, living room, and 
dining-room are combined in one, with no heat in any other room 
in the house. The farmer and his family have to spend most of their 
time working indoors or out, eating and sleeping. Their occupa- 
tions and hours of labor in no way correspond to those of the teacher, 
which increases the difficulty of fitting the teacher 's necessary habits 
to those of the farmer with any satisfaction to either. A good 
teacher must spend a considerable amount of time almost every 
evening upon school work, for which a quiet, comfortable room is 
essential. If she insists upon such a room when she goes to board 
in the country she is likely to be considered ''stuck-up" and exclu- 
sive. If she gets a room by herself it is often unheated and too un- 
comfortable for study in cold weather. On the other hand, if she 
is forced to spend her entire time in the living room with the rest 
of the family she has no opportunity to prepare properly for her 
school duties, and is also very likely to be drawn unavoidably into 
neighborhood gossip and factional disputes, of which unfortunately 
there are altogether too many. Many of the better situated fami- 
lies in the country districts who have the facilities, do not care to 

Page Fwk 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



take a steady boarder, so that if a teacher gets a place to board at 
all she may be forced to go to farm houses where only the barest 
accommodations can be secured. 

Under these circumstances, the teaching of a country school 
often becomes simply a temporary expedient for the teacher the 
first term after getting a certificate, and ambitious teachers who 
are anxious to grow in their profession, and make something of 
themselves, go to the city schools just as soon as possible, where 
opportunities for learning are greater and living conditions better. 
The country schools are always left with the largest proportion of 
young, inexperienced, poorly trained teachers, or with teachers who 
have been content to go on year after year shifting from one dis- 
trict to another, without qualifying themselves for the more rigid 
requirements of the city schools. Out of 9,883 teachers in one and 
two-room rural schools in Missouri, in 1910-11, but 55 had taught 
six or more consecutive years in the same location. A teacher may 
continue for many years with the lowest grade of certificate in the 
country schools, but this cannot be done in the city schools. In the 
four states of South Dakota, Kansas, Texas and Wisconsin, there 
are over 18,000 rural teachers who have not had even a partial high 
school education. 

The problem from the teacher's standpoint is well summed up 
by Miss Ellen G. Syse of the North Dakota Agricultural College, 
from whose manuscript, entitled "The Teacher's Boarding Place 
and the Rural School, ' ' we quote as follows : 

"Much complaint is made of the inefficiency of the rural 
schools, and vigorous efforts have been exerted on every hand 
to build up a more effective and efficient rural school system. 
But in working out the problem, it has been approached, more 
or less, from the viewpoint of the needs of the community, 
and rarely, if ever, from the viewpoint of the needs of the 
teacher. We have sought to biiild up an efficient rural school 
system by making demands upon the teacher, defining her du- 
ties and determining her qualifications for service, forgetting 
that only when we create conditions that will attract the well- 
qualified teacher and justify her in remaining with us, shall we 
secure the service which makes for good rural schools. 

Well-qualified teachers will not stay in a place where 
boarding conditions are poor, at the worst they will stay only 
until they have attained the teaching experience required to 
qualify them for teaching in the village or city schools. Rcrely, 
however, do they remain for more than one term in such a 
community. As a general rule, those communities providing 
congenial living conditions secure the good teachers, while 
those neglecting their teachers must take the less competent 
ones, making for less efficient work and ineffective schools. 

From a recent investigation in regard to North Dakota rural 
school conditions, it is evident that many of our rural com- 
munities are not aware of a close connection between good 
boarding places and good school teaching. Statements received 
from county superintendents and rural teachers of the state 
show that in a number of localities the living conditions pro- 



Page Six 



THE PROBLEM IN RURAL EDUCATION 

vided for the teacher are far from satisfactory, and that in 
many places they are so poor that the teachers are jeopardizing 
their health by staying." 

The final result of this eombmation of circumstances is alto- 
gether unfair, since nearly 60 per cent of the children of school age 
in the United States are in the rural districts. In the city schools 
there is manual training for the boys, domestic science for the 
girls, laboratory equipment of many kinds, and the best teachers 
that can be secured. The ordinary country school has but little 
more equipment than it had 25 years ago, which makes it doubly 
important that the lack of equipment be compensated for by teach- 
ers with more attractive personality, better training, and greater 
resourcefulness. The disparity between the city schools and the 
country schools will continue to increase until some means is found 
to get and hold more experienced and better trained teachers in 
the country districts. Better teachers result in better school houses 
and equipment as is well stated by A. C. Monahan of the U. S. 
Bureau of Education : 

"It is true that a good school may exist in the poorest 
building and with the poorest equipment, but, as a rule, the 
condition of the building and equipment is a good indication 
of the instructional work of the school. In other words, in- 
structional work of a high grade in a school reacts upon the 
material equipment for whether the good instruction is due 
directly to the teacher or indirectly to a good supervisor through 
her, its influence is sooner or later felt by the school directors 
and by the school patrons, and results in a general improve- 
ment of the material facilities. Investigation, as far as it has 
been carried out, seems to show that, as a rule, wherever the 
greatest advance has been made in rural schools, improved 
buildings and equipment have followed improved teaching." 

How to secure better teachers is a problem in which every 
country tax payer is directly interested, as a simple matter of get- 
ting a full dollar 's worth for his investment, and a problem in which 
everyone is concerned, because it involves the entire question of 
community development and better citizenship. 

The state of Washington has taken the lead with a simple, prac- 
tical solution of this problem — a solution which is so simple now 
that it has been found, it seems strange that it was not discovered 
long ago. This is 

THE TEACHER'S COTTAGE. 

The teacher's cottage, or "teacherage," is a permanent resi- 
dence for the teacher, built near or in combination with the school 
house. It serves the same function that a parsonage does in con- 
nection with the church. 

A few years ago an energetic young country school teacher in 
the state of Washington was utterly unable to find a family that 
would accept her as a boarder for the school term. Nothing 

Page Seven 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



daunted, she persuaded the authorities to move a portable cook 
house into the school yard. It was only 20 feet long and covered 
with canvas, but she partitioned it off with a curtain, furnished it, 
and put on ready-made roofing when the winter rains set in. Her 
younger brother, a twelve-year-old boy, stayed with her, and they 
lived in the cook shack the entire term. This example convinced 
the district authorities that they should provide a suitable dwelling 
place for the teacher, and the first teacher's cottage in the state 
of Washington was ready the following September, when it was 
occupied by the teacher and her mother. The same teacher stayed 
there three years, and finally left to complete her college course, 
but the teacher's cottage had proved its mission. The State Super- 
intendent of Schools took up the question, the plan spread to other 
districts, and now the state of Washington has 108 of these cot- 
tages, which are found in 29 of the 39 counties in the state. 

This apparently new idea in America is an old one elsewhere 
for it has long been the custom in England, the Scandinavian coun- 



Garden and Orchard 






Drive Way 



'I 



■Sanded Out -Door 
Gymnasium 
and 
Play^r-ound 






1 Class Room 



m il n il — L 



•Si 



-H-+- 



h4*^ 



^L. 






;«i^s$ 



III ' I I I 



Froni- Yard 

F/owers and Shrubbery 

Forest Trees 



Boys 



\Fuel 



^ 
i 



Vage Eight 



Living tted^e 

Layout of Typical Rural School Grounds in Denmark 

(Courtesy of U. S. Bureau of Education) 



THE TEACHER'S COTTAGE 



tries, Germany, France, Denmark and Switzerland to furnish resi- 
dences for the teachers, who are employed by the year, and often 
spend a lifetime in the same school. 

In Denmark, for example, the law requires that all rural teach- 
ers be provided with free homes, which are kept up and heated at 
public expense. The United States Bureau of Education, Bulletin 
1913, No. 58, ' ' The Educational System of Rural Denmark, ' ' says : 

"Country teachers are all provided with free homes. These 
range from three-room suites in the case of unmarried women 
teachers to seven or eight rooms for married men. The suites 
are built, as a rule, in connection with the main school building, 
using either the second floor or a wing on the first floor. Where 
more than one teacher lives in the building each suite of rooms 
invariably has its own separate entrance. This system of 
teacher housing is very successful and means much for the 
teacher and for community leadership. 

Another thing of interest is that ail teachers are entitled 
under the law to a garden. This is planned and planted to 
shrubbery and fruit at community expense. The garden may 
vary from a small lot to nearly an acre of ground. In a few 
instances women teachers accept a sum of money in lieu of the 
garden. Not alone do the gardens supplement the teachers' 
incomes, but they are often used as experimental plats for the 
schools as well. 

Such schools provided as they are for housing the teachers 
and making their lives attractive and wholesome, naturally 
become the rallying centers for all community activities." 

A sketch of the arrangement of class-room, living quarters, play- 
grounds and gardens in a typical one-teacher rural school in Den- 
mark is shown on page 8. 

In Switzerland, every large sehoolhouse includes a residence 
for the janitor, and the country schoolhouses are also homes for 
the teachers. On this subject, the United States Bureau of Edu- 
cation, Bulletin 1913, No. 56,^ "Some Suggestive Features of the 
Swiss School System," says: 

"In external architecture there is usually a successful effort 
to make the building harmonize with its surroundings. Especi- 
ally in the country there is a refreshing simplicity and dignity 
about the sehoolhouse. Since the janitor or the teacher lives 
at the sehoolhouse, it is never characterized by the neglect 
evident in so many American country schoolhouses, which are 
deserted for several months in the year. The teacher's garden 
and the pot plants in the windows of his dwelling upstairs 
give the school a homelike atmosphere, in marked contrast to 
that which is too common with us. The plans and cuts of 
schoolhouses which are exhibited herewith are fairly typical 
of what was found in the Cantons visited." 

Illustrations of typical Swiss country school buildings are shown 
on page 10. 

One of the principal points of rural school improvement urged 
by Dr. P. P. Claxton, United States Commissioner of Education, 



Page Nine 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



ever since assuming the office in 1911, has been the "teacherage." 
In the Report of the Commissioner of Education for 1913, Vol. I, 
in his introductory chaj^ter, he urges the consolidation of rural 
schools, and adds : 

"When such a consolidation is made a good schoolhouse 
should be built, attractive, comfortable, and sanitary, with 
classrooms, laboratories and library, and an assembly hall large 




Schoolhouse at Gimmelwald, Switzerland Opposite the Jungfrau. 




Two-Teacher Country School, Sewil, Canton Berne, Switzerland. 
Teachers' Home in Second Story. 



Typical Country Schools in Switzerland 

(Courtesy U. S. Bureau of Education). 



Page Ten 



HOW IT SHOULD BE BUILT 



enough, not only to seat comfortably all the pupils of the 
school, but also to serve as a meeting place for the people of 
the district. For the principal's home a house should be built 
on the school grounds. This house should not be expensive, but 
neat and attractive, a model for the community, such a house 
as any thrifty farmer with good taste might hope to build or 
have built for himself. And as a part of the equipment of 
the school there should be a small farm, from 4 to 5 acres if in 
a village or densely populated community, and from 25 to 50 
acres if in the open country. The principal of the school 
should be required to live in the principal's home, keep it as 
a model home for the community and cultivate the farm as a 
model farm, with garden, orchard, poultry yard, dairy, and 
whatever else should be found on a well-conducted, well-tilled 
farm in that community. He should put himself into close 
contact with the agricultural college and agricultural experi- 
ment station of his State, the departments of agriculture of 
State and Nation, farm demonstration agents, and other simi- 
lar agencies, and it should be made their duty to help him in 
every way possible. The use of the house and the products 
of the farm should be given the principal as a part of his 
salary in addition to the salary now paid in money. After a 
satisfactory trial of a year or two, a contract should be made 
with the principal for life or good behavior, or at least for a 
long term of years. 

In this way it would be possible to get and keep in the 
schools men of first-class ability, competent to teach children 
and to become leaders in their communities. The principal 
of a country school should know country life. A large part 
of country life has to do with the cultivation and care of the 
farm. The best test here, as elsewhere, is the ability to do. 
The principal of a country school in a farming community 
should be able to cultivate and care for a small farm better, 
or at least as well, as any other man in the community. It 
may be true that 'those who can, do; and those who can't, teach,' 
but it should not be so. It must not be so if the teacher is to 
do the work and have the influence in the community that he 
should." 

HOW IT SHOULD BE BUILT. 

The teacher's cottage will of necessity be within the boundaries 
of the tract of land assigned for the school house, or on a separate 
lot near by. The building site should be chosen so as to give the 
cottage as good a setting and outlook as possible. It should contain 
an acre or more to furnish room for a garden patch, a chicken house, 
a cow or horse stable, and perhaps also room for some demonstra- 
tion work where elementary instruction in agriculture is intro- 
duced in the country schools. Such courses will increase in the 
future, and it will be well to provide for them in selecting the site 
and determining its size. 

The cottage should be of two or more rooms, depending upon 
the ability of the district to build, or the possibility of combining 
with another district for a union school with one or more teachers. 
The cottage should be warmly and substantially built, for in the 

Page Eleven 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



long run it is cheaper to build snugly than to pay fUcl bills, and 
the same type of building which is warm in winter is cool in summer. 
Moreover, cheap, flimsy construction will prove most expensive in 
the long run for the cottage is to be a permanent institution in the 
community, and should be built to give many years of service. 

Special attention should be paid to details of arrangement 
since the teacher or teacher's wife will often do her own work, 
and steps should be saved. A good water supply is the first essen- 
tial. If possible a bathroom should be provided, and most cer- 
tainly a cheap but effective method of sewerage disposal. These 
are items of rural sanitation which are sadly neglected. The proper 
handling of them will be a permanent example to the rest of the 
community, and a great factor in the improvement of conditions 
of country living. 

The cottage should be built of the materials most available in 
each locality and best adapted to its needs. These are easily ascer- 
tained upon consultation with the nearest lumber dealer or build- 
ing supply man. The exterior may well consist of drop siding, 
rustic boarding, or drop shingles, the interior trim of either hard 
or softwoods, and the floors of hardwood or rift-sawed softwood, 
which will wear for a long time without splintering. The exterior 
should always be kept well painted so as to make an attractive ap- 
pearance, and to preserve the structure. The interior trim should 
be stained rather than painted in order to bring out the beauty of 
the wood-work, and harmonious schemes of color and decoration 
should be worked out to secure an agreeable, home-like atmosphere. 

None of these requirements is expensive. They simply take 
good judgment in the selection of materials, and good taste in their 
arrangement. Pleasant surroundings and right living conditions 
are big factors in making good teachers. An attractive teacher's 
cottage will permit the employment of capable married men for 
teachers, who become a permanent and valuable part of the com- 
munity life. Women teachers who have relatives or families de- 
pending on them can also take schools with cottages and have much 
better living conditions than it would be possible for them to secure 
in the city, and can so well afford to teach in the country for smaller 
wages than paid in the city schools. 

The principles which should guide in the construction of a 
small cottage for the rural districts are well stated by Dr. F. B. 
Dresslar in Bulletin, 1914, No. 12, U. S. Bureau of Education : 

"The cottage for the teacher should be as far as possible 
a model of its kind for the neighborhood. A beautiful, well- 
planned, and sanitary cottage on the school farm would help in 
a definite way to stimulate the farmers to build better houses 
(not more expensive ones) and to reconstruct to a degree those 
already built. 

What sort of cottage should be built? The complete answer 
to this question must of course be left to the authorities of the 
district. There are, however, some suggestions applicable: 



Page Twelve 



PLANS FOR COTTAGES 



1. It should be beautiful and as far as possible should 
, harmonize with the general architectural treatment of the school 

building, if the latter is a modern type. An architect should be 
employed and the beautiflcation of the useful be insisted on. 

2. It should include a living room, a bath room, a kitchen, 
a dining room, and a sleeping porch. The number of bedrooms 
will probably not exceed two, and these should connect with 
the sleeping porch. The plans for the kitchen should receive 
a great deal of care, especially with reference to modern con- 
veniences. 

3. The sleeping porches should be models for the neigh- 
borhood. They should be carefully screened against flies and 
mosquitoes and should open from small dressing rooms, capable 
of being used as bedrooms when necessary. 

As has been said elsewhere, if the country school is to do 
the work now generally demanded of it, teachers' cottages are 
necessary in many parts of the country. There is no practicable 
way of making the district school the real social and educational 
center of a community without keeping the schoolhouse open 
and the agricultural operations under supervision during the 
summer months. This will of course mean a change in the plan 
of hiring teachers, and, more especially, it will necessitate the 
employment of a greater number of men for rural school work. 
There are many difliculties in the way, and some of them may 
seem almost insuperable, but progress in country life demands 
these changes and in time they must be made." 

PLANS FOR COTTAGES. 

The photographs and sketches of floor plans of several cottages 
reproduced in this volume chiefly represent adaptations of existing 
structures to new purposes, or simply the cheapest structure it has 
been possible to build to serve as a living place for the teacher. 
But few of the cottages so far erected have been the result of careful 
planning to meet all requirements for a considerable period of time 
and of a type which can serve as a model for residences of similar 
size in the community. 

The Washington Cottages. 

In her excellent bulletin, "Teachers' Cottages in Washington," 
Mrs. Preston suggests two types of cottages suitable for conditions 
in that state, which are equally well adapted to many localities else- 
where. They are as follows : 

Cottage for Small District- 
Figure 1 is the view and Figure 2 the plan of the one-story 
house. 'This provides accommodation for two teachers or a 
teacher and his family. The living room is 13x19 feet, and is 
suflficiently large for the dining table in one end. This room is 
made large so it may be used for receptions, meetings of the 
school classes, mothers' meetings, and all such assemblies in 
the interest of the domestic, social and educational life of the 
community. The bedroom is provided with a bed alcove enclosed 
with folding glass doors. The window at the end is large and is 
arranged to open the whole size. With this arrangement the 
alcove may be converted into a fresh air sleeping room by open- 

Page Thirteen 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 





&-^.»-VLu,.awkKA'^lJ,,S|J 



^.lM.■llllilllfekltf ''' 



Fig. 1. Model Single Cottage for Small District 




Fig, 2. Floor Plan for Small Cottage 



Paae Fourteen 



THE WASHINGTON COTTAGES 



ing the window and closing the folding doors. A large clothes 
closet is provided. 

The kitchen is arranged with a sink, cupboard with shelves, 
drawers and a cool closet division. A bathroom is shown in 
connection, which may be omitted if desired. The hot water 
tank for the bath and sink will be placed in the bathroom. A 
small cellar is also provided, which may be omitted. Both the 
front and rear entrances have porches. 

The cost of this home complete, without furniture, will be 
about $900. If the bathroom and plumbing fixtures, except 
sink are omitted, deduct $250. If the cellar is omitted deduct 
an additional amount of $50. 

The Double Cottage. 

Figure 3 is the view and Figures 4 and 5 the plans of 
the double two-story home. The object of building these double 
homes is to provide larger accommodation for community social 
work by using the two living rooms together by opening the 
double folding doors. This opening has two sets of double 
doors, and when closed and a quilt or blanket hung between 
them, no noise can pass from either room to disturb the occu- 
pants of the adjoining room. Cellars are provided with stair- 
ways from the kitchens. Both the front and rear entrances have 
porches, and are separated so as to give as much privacy as 
possible. Two bedrooms are provided on the second floor for 
each house. The bathrooms are directly over the kitchen and 
the hot water tank is placed there. 

The double home will cost about $2,300. If the plumbing 
is omitted deduct $200. If the cellars are omitted deduct $100. 

While these homes are designed to be substantially and well 
built, they are constructed of simple stock material, and there 
are no special detail refinements. Shades and screens should 
be furnished with the building. 

What the District Should Furnish. 

It is recommended that the school district provide the fol- 
lowing furniture: 

1 kitchen queen 1 range 

1 dining table 6 dining chairs 

1 sideboard 1 book case 

1 small table 1 easy chair 

1 rocking chair 1 bedstead and spring 

1 dresser 

The teacher will furnish rugs, carpets, draperies, bedding, 
table linen and dishes. 

We would suggest that the school district charge about 
one dollar a month for the use of the furniture. The furniture 
will cost about $125. 

For the double house there will be two additional chairs, 
and one bed and spring. This will cost about $40 additional. 
In planning the houses for teachers the needs of the teacher 
and the requirements of community life of the school district 
have been carefully considered. Cost and simplicity of con- 
struction have also been given considerable attention. 

Cost and Price of Plans. 

The cost given for the homes is the average cost condition 
in the Puget Sound district. In outlying districts and in East- 
ern Washington these prices may be 10 to 20 per cent, higher. 



Page Fifteen 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 




Page Sixteen 



Fig. S. Double Cottage 
Second Floor 



THE RADFORD COTTAGES 



Arrangements have been made with the architects of these 
homes, to provide complete working drawings, specifications, 
forms for building agreement and bond, for $5 for one set of 
complete blueprints for the one-story home, and $10 for the 
double two-story home. School districts desiring them may 
write to the State Department of Education at Olympia, Wash- 
ington. 

The Radford Cottages. 

The plans of a number of teachers' cottages in various parts of 
the country reproduced in this bulletin, together with the model 
cott<iges recommended by Mrs. Preston, show many interesting 
features of construction. In order to afford school authorities a 
still greater range of choice, the Radford Architectural Company 
of Chicago, has, upon request, specially designed the three cottages 
described and illustrated herewith. They involve no expensive 
features of construction, can easily be built of the most available 
materials in each locality, and will present a comfortable, ''homey" 
appearance. Furnace heat is always desirable, but these cottages 
may be adequately heated by stoves if there is need to save on costs. 
A good water supply system should be provided by a force pump 
with a storage tank in the attic, or a pressure tank in the basement, 
and — still more important — a sanitary method of sewage disposal 
should always be arranged for. The cost of a septic tank is not 
great, but the lack of one may bring disaster. 

Whatever type of cottage may be decided upon for any par- 
ticular locality, the effort should always be to make it attractive 
and easy to do housework in. These are big factors in any resi- 
dence, and especially important here since the teachers' cottage 
will naturally be looked upon as an expression of the community 
idea of home building. 

Design No. 1: 

This is a three-room one-story bungalow, with total dimensions of 
33'x27%', exclusive of porches and bay projections. The entire base- 
ment is excavated and finished with a cement floor throughout, subdi- 
vided into proper spaces for furnace room, laundry room, coal bins and 
fruit and vegetable room. The foundation walls are of concrete to grade 
level, and from there up, of typical 2x4 frame construction. The exterior 
is finished with bevel siding, and shingle roof. 

The interior contains a combination kitchen and dining-room, with 
a 3'x3' table, built into the bay projection with benches on each side, 
which are hinged, and can be let down out of the way when not in use. 
The end of the table has an 18" hinged leaf, which can be let down when 
not needed. This makes the table 4%' long, and capable of easily seat- 
ing five persons when necessary. The cupboard adjacent to the sink con- 
tains shelves for dishes and drawers underneath for pots, pans, etc. The 
cupboard on the other side of the table is of similar type, with a dresser 
compartment for table cloths, napkins, etc. A metal hood is placed over 
the stove to remove foul air and gases. 

The living-room is of sufficient size to entertain a neighborhood 
gathering, or in case it is desired to have a dinner party, a dining-room 
table can be placed in one end of it very convenient to the kitchen. The 
seat in the bay window has a hinged top, so as to be used for a handy 
place to store away various articles. 

Page Seventeen 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



This cottage will very nicely accommodate a teacher and his wife, 
or two lady teachers, who wish to live together. It is neat and attrac- 
tive in appearance, and very easy to do house work in. 




Page Eighteen 



Design No. 1 



THE RADFORD COTTAGES 




Design No. 2: 

This is a four-room bungalow to accommodate the same number of 
persons as Design No. 1, but has a separate dining-room. The total dimen- 
sions are 29%'x27%', exclusive of porches. The exterior is covered with 
8" rough bungalow siding, and a shingle roof. The basement arrange- 
ment is similar to that of Design No. 1. The kitchen stove is connected 
to the chimney over the fire-place in the attic. The built-in dining-room 
sideboard contains drawers and china cases with casement windows above. 
The living room has a big fire-place and hearth with bookcases on each 
side. 

Page Nineteen 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 






Design No. 3: 

This is a story and a half residence for a teacher and his family, 
or as many as four lady teachers, if they wish to keep house together. 
The exterior dimensions are 22'x28i/.', exclusive of porches. The out- 
side is covered with bevel siding and shingle roof. 

The basement is arranged in similar fashion to Designs No. 1 and 2. 
The kitchen sink has a cupboard directly over it, with shelves for dishes 
and drawers and also shelves underneath for pots and pans. The 
living-room and dining-room can be thrown together to make one 
large room 12'x2 7' for the accommodation of neighborhood gatherings. 
A particularly good feature about this design is the two closets in each 
bed-room with ventilating windows. 

Page Twenty 



AS A SOCIAL CENTER 



AS A SOCIAL CENTER. 

The teacher's cottage greatly facilitates the development of 
''social centers" and leads to the use of the school house for many 
community purposes. The school house thus becomes a continuously 
operated plant for better citizenship. Upon this point we can do 
no better than to quote again from Mrs. Preston: 

"The scliool cottage is being made a social center for the 
district," is the message that comes from Elmira in our sister 
state, Idaho. "The parents meet there, and discuss questions 
that may arise in the school and in their daily work at home, 
thus enabling the teacher to get in closer touch with them. 
The children have taken more interest in their school work, 
on account of the interest of the parents. The same teacher 
has been employed for two years and will be employed as long 
as she wishes to teach, neither parents nor teacher having any 
desire for a change. Before, there was a new teacher every 
year." 

Another social center is reported in a letter from the Sno- 
qualmie principal, Harvey L, Rowley, as his altruistic use of 
his cottage is a fine example of what many others are doing, 
and will do in the future. 

"As to the use I have made of the school cottage be- 
sides that of a home: We have twice entertained the pupils 
of the high school and the eighth grade including others out- 
side of the school. This we could not have afforded if we were 
paying a high rent. The pupils have been made to feel that 
this was their home also, when they have desired a place for 
their parties. They come to us, and we give them privilege 
to use the cottage under our direction. They drop in evenings 
and play on the piano and sing. 

"We are trying to make the cottage a social center out- 
side of the school, and the pupils are coming to look at it in 
that way. We have a well-organized Parent-Teachers' Associ- 
ation, organized this year. The parents are taking a great 
interest in the work of the school. My work in social center 
includes the Association just organized, the Farmer's Grange 
which we are just organizing, an extension course from the 
University, school athletics, tri-weekly programs at the school 
and the school hall, and work in agriculture among the farmers." 

THE MISSION OF THE COUNTRY SCHOOL TEACHER. 

Writing upon this subject in a recent issue of the Countryside 
Magazine, Addie M. Thayer so well portrays the varied duties and 
opportunities of the rural teacher that we quote as follows. She 
tells particularly of Idaho conditions, but what she says applies to 
a large portion of the country. 

"The country teacher must be resourceful and independent 
when she is so far from the county-seat. Responsibilities come 
to her that would never be dreamed of in a more thickly pop- 
ulated country. In the same human spirit in which one little 
teacher taught fractions, organized a Sunday-School, played ten- 
nis with children and parents in the school-yard after Sunday- 
School, held up the standard of the country dances by her 
■ - co-operation, took the pupils to a neighbor's barn to judge and 



Page Twenty-one 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



score horses, trained the children in practical manual training 
by making a walk and gate and whitewashing the fence, and 
acted as doctor, nurse, and maid when a new little arrival came 
to a neighbor's home. It was a strange sight for an outsider 
to see a line of infant's garments strung from school-house to 
shed. There was no one else to care for the baby, so the teacher 
took her duty as a matter of course. "If Miss Blank had done 
nothing else," said one, "She would have been a God-send to 
us for teaching our children how to play." The first entertain- 
ment in that district in years brought out people fifteen miles 
away. This teacher's vision is broad enough to see beyond the 
four walls of a schoolroom. She feels that she can best serve 
the community by teaching those things that parents neglect 
to do. Unlike the city teacher who has to have faith that in 
time there will be results, she sees almost immediately a com- 
munity response. 

Does someone who has not the imagination and vision say, 
"Those things cannot be done unless other school work is neg- 
lected"? It is true; much is omitted which educational "stand- 
patters" would still consider essentials. They are neglecting 
cube root, the names of the mountain ranges of China, the 
diagramming of sentences, and the details of all the wars large 
and small; but they are learning more about farm accounts, 
the geography of their own region, how to write a good letter, 
and local history. 

One young man teacher had the good sense to neglect the 
formal part of the eighth-grade subjects, even though he might 
be judged a failure by someone higher up, when his students 
came to take the eighth-grade examination; but he had brought 
into his little rural school two red-shirted "lumberjacks" who 
had left school a year or two before because of discouragement 
or lack of interest. The athletics, practical arithmetic, and, 
best of all, the manly young teacher, appealed to the boys, so 
they were easily persuaded to come back. 

Probably the young woman who had her pupils make 
bird-houses brought more culture into her district than any 
formal book study could, for the whole community was ben- 
efited by it. The same teacher, through her practical agricul- 
ture, saved the orchards of the patrons, men who had little 
knowledge of fruit-growing and who were depending on the 
future bearing of their fruit trees for their livelihood. When 
the teacher and her pupils were pruning a neighbor's orchard 
they found many trees whose roots were eaten by gophers. 
After further investigation, three hundred gopher-traps were 
ordered. While waiting for their orchards to mature, the farm- 
ers tried to raise other crops, but without much success because 
of poor soil. Again the young teacher saved the day by test- 
ing the soil for acidity and getting a neighbor to experiment 
by liming his soil. 

A new generation of teachers like these will educate future 
citizens to be more in sympathy with their environment. Then 
country life will be satisfying. When teachers are thoroughly 
imbued with the idea of re-directing the rural community, 
through the school, along more practical, social and recreational 
lines, they will do more for the "country-life movement" than 
any other force." 



Page Twenty-two 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE. 

Although in only a few states have many teachers' cottages 
been erected, there are one or more in almost every state, and a 
rapidly growing sentiment that the consolidation of rural schools 
and the building of homes for the teachers is the next big educa- 
tional development in the United States. A brief resume of progress 
follows. Much of this information is taken from an unprinted re- 
port of the United States Bureau of Education, prepared from data 
. collected from county superintendents and other rural superin- 
tendents. Where abstracts are given from the Bureau report, 
the quotations are from the reports of the county superintendents 
to the Federal Office. 

Alabama. 

The recent law increasing State aid for the erection, repair and 
equipment of rural school-houses does not make provision for teachers' 
cottages. However, we are alive to any openings in the state where 
such buildings may possibly be erected. The Department realizes the 
value of teacherages, and hopes that with the erection of consolidated 
schools, this type of building may go hand in hand. (Wm. P. Feagin, 
State Superintendent, Montgomery, Ala.) 

♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ 

Pour county superintendents express a desire to have them. Mar- 
shall County is now building six houses for teachers. Enterprise, Coffee 
County, bought a cottage for the teacher and paid for it by popular sub- 
scription. Covington County has one rural school with teacher's cottage 
and six acres of land; charges small rent. Monroe County has one cot- 
tage they rent to the teacher. Moran County has two for negro children. 
Cullman County reports that because they have no cottages many of the 
married male teachers are forced to give up the teaching profession be- 
cause in many localities there are no other houses for the teachers to 
live in. Talladega County reports that their teachers have a good deal 
of trouble securing suitable boarding places, which is a handicap to the 
progress of the school. County superintendents advise trustees to secure 
best boarding place possible for their teachers. Jackson County has one 
cottage owned by district, furnished free to teachers, a handsome two- 
story, eight-room building, kept in good repair. By reason of this teach- 
ers' cottage this school has been able to engage and bold the very best 
teaching talent in the county. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 



Arizona. 



No teachers' cottages reported. 



Arkansas. 



School districts are permitted to build such cottages whenever they 
can and desire to do so. A number of such cottages have been erected 
in the State in the last three or four years. (J. L. Bond, Supervisor Rural 
Schools, Little Rock, Ark.) 

♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ 

The movement for building teachers' cottages in this county is yet 
in its infancy, and there is only one in the county. That is a very neat, 
four-room cottage, built on the corner of the school ground, and is used 
for a home for the teacher and his family. 

In a short time there will be a general move on the part of the rural 
districts to build homes for their teachers. (J. D. Swift, County Super- 
intendent, Blytheville, Ark.) 

Page Twenty-three 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Arkansas. 

We have one teacherage in this county erected the past summer. 
It is about four and one-half miles southwest of Bentonville. It is a 
five-room cottage, well finished, conveniently arranged, at a cost of about 
$500. This cottage accommodates only two teachers at present, but 
I think the school will add another teacher next term. 

Great interest is being taken in cottages for teachers in this county, 
and I think others will be built. (W. R. Edwards, County Superin- 
tendent, Bentonville, Ark.) 

*> ^^ ♦:♦ ♦:♦ 

We have at present two nice cottages. One three rooms, the other 
four rooms. They are ceiled, and painted inside. They are intended to 
accommodate the principal and his wife, who are expected to supervise 
the house and grounds at all times. 

The three-room cottage is in Ada district in the northern part of 
Crawford County. The four-room cottage is in Mountainburg, also in 
northern part of county. 

We have two large districts just made this year. The school build- 
ings are just complete. Nice cottages will be built in both these districts 
this year. This will make us four "teacherages" in Crawford County. 
We are interested in building such schools, and think that this will be 
the plan of the future school. (Henry W. Shaffer, County Superintend- 
ent, Van Buren, Ark.) 

♦ ^ ♦*♦ <* 

We have at Scott's Station in this county, a consolidated school, with 
three teachers, a teacherage, or living cottage for the home of the three 
teachers. This community is almost an ideal one — a good school-house, 
with three rooms to accommodate three schools, a community house, 
where all the public business is transacted, and where they get all their 
amusements, such as gymnasium, music, etc., and a teacherage, where 
the three teachers live, hire their cook and housekeeper, and enjoy a 
delightful home, amid absolutely ideal surroundings, quiet, books, com- 
fortable surroundings altogether. 

There is now another movement in the north part of the county, in 
a rural district like Scott's, at a place called Redoak, where I taught my 
first school, some twenty-five years ago, a movement to build a teachers' 
cottage on the beautiful school grounds, and they have recently built a 
three-room school building, on a plot of five acres, and there is room 
for this cottage. I had a long talk with one of the directors yesterday 
about this matter, and I am sure that in the near future, they will pro- 
vide a nice home for the teachers there. Let us hope that many others 
will follow their example, and that after awhile (pray that it will be 
only a little while) every school in the United States will have a home 
for the teachers on the grounds, supplied with a horse and buggy, or 
better still a car, a garden and everything that will make the teacher 
become a permanent profession. (E. R. Robinson, County Superintend- 
ent, Lonoke, Ark.) 

<jf 4f ^ ^ 

A lumber company at Millville is constructing a building for the 
teachers. Greenwood, Sebastian County, has two for the elementary 
schools and reports they have better teachers and better schools than 
any others of the same class. County superintendent urges boards to 
build more buildings. 

Wynne, Ark., reports that in a rural district ten miles from a rail- 
road in Cross County a beautiful cottage on the campus, is owned by the 
district and furnished free to the principal and his family. This is the 
best rural school in the county and perhaps the best in Arkansas. They 
have had the same principal for six years, and the free cottage does much 
in helping to hold this valuable man. 



Page Twenty Four 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



Mississippi County lias one in a rural community and another in a 
town of about 1,000 population. Both have proved a decided success. 
One is a five-room cottage, and if they are not occupied they are easily 
rented and the rent money goes to the support of the schools. Plan is 
so satisfactory that other communities are discussing it with intention 
of building. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

California. 

"Believe plan a good one." Teacher of agriculture in San Jose High 
School is furnished a cottage free. "Excellent plan." Tamalpais Union 
High School will build a cottage for the janitor. San Mateo County has 
a small two-room cottage in the Tunis district built on the school lot 
because they could find no boarding place for their teacher. They employ 
a widow with four children. In Los Angeles County there are three cot- 
• tages rented by the teachers and owned by the county, and five cottages 
rented by the janitors. San Diego County states that one of their great- 
est problems is the problem of board and lodging. Kern County reports 
four cottages and that the experiment is successful because conditions 
make it necessary. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Colorado. 

Under the powers given to school boards in this State, it is possible 
for school districts to erect or purchase homes for the use of the teacher 
or teachers. Such buildings are usually designated as "teacherages." 
There are five such teacherages in Colorado at the present time, and 
I am very earnestly hoping that the number may be materially increased 
during the next year. (Mary C. C. Bradford, Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, Denver, Colo.) 

J>* -A- *V ^* 

V V V V 

There is one teacher's cottage in our county. It is a schoolhouse 
which became too small for the needs of the district, and when they 
built the new schoolhouse, the old one was remodeled for a "teacherage." 
It has four rooms and is partly furnished. One teacher lived in it four 
years. It stands beside the schoolhouse. There are two teachers in the 
school, both ladies, and are living in the cottage. The District is No. 11 
of Mesa County, known locally as the "Pride" School. It is a rich dis- 
trict and employs three other teachers in remote parts of the district. 
(Mrs. Elizabeth Hinton, County Superintendent, Grand Junction, Colo.) 

♦:♦ *:♦ *:♦ *> 

There is a teacher's cottage at Pinon, Colo., seven rooms. Two teach- 
ers — family of the principal. Others may be built the coming year. 
(Lillie O. Baker, County Superintendent, Pueblo, Colo.) 

■^ -^ ♦ji- -^ 

We have in Otero County only one home for the teacher, provided by 
the school district. This building consists of one room 14 ft. x 18, and 
of a kitchen 14 x 14, which is provided with a sink, and is connected with 
a cistern in such manner that the water may be pumped from the cistern 
inside of the kitchen. Underneath the kitchen is a cellar 8 ft. square. 
The building also is provided with a porch which is 11 ft. x 14, and is 
planned to be used as a sleeping room, if desired by the teacher. The 
Board of Education is planning to plant trees in the yard next spring, so 
that teachers and pupils will be provided with shade. This home is located 
in a semi-dryland region. The District is No. 1, and the postoflfice address 
is Timpas. 

At Weitzer, District No. 18, of this county, an attempt was made two 
years ago to vote money to build a teacher's home at the expense of the 
district. For some reason the movement was defeated, and the secretary, 
who owns a store close by the schoolhouse, leased an acre of ground for 
an indefinite period from a land owner owning land contiguous to the 
school grounds, and placed on this leased portion a 4-room building. The 



Page Twenty-five 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Colorado. 

building is in the form of a square, about 26x26. It is a very comfort- 
able building for a small family. Their idea is to keep the teacher in 
the community, and let him be, therefore, a part of the community life. 
Their school is a 2-room building, and their policy is to keep a male prin- 
cipal. (S. S. Phillips, County Superintendent, La Junta, Colo.) 

♦> ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ ^ 

I am sorry to say there are no teachers' cottages in Jefferson County. 
The nearest approach to one is in one of the mountain districts where 
one of the patrons built a house for the teacher since it was imperative 
that the teacher have a boarding place and there was no place in the 
district where she could go. (Berness Bunger, County Superintendent, 

Golden, Colo.) 

^ ^* <j» <j» 

There are no teachers' cottages in this county, but some are 
certainly badly needed, for only this morning a teacher came to me and 
said she didn't know where she could get a place to stay, no one 
wanted to keep her; the only American family that had been in the 
district have moved away, leaving only Mexicans in the district. (S. J. 
Capps, County Superintendent, La Veta, Colo.) 

♦♦♦ ♦!♦ ♦J- ♦♦♦ 

We have one teacher's cottage in this county. This cottage is situ- 
ated in District No. .5, which is in the north central part of the county, 
in an agricultural district. It is 24'x24', cost about $700, and has four 
rooms. It accommodates the two teachers who have charge of the 
school in this district. (Emma Full, County Superintendent, Montrose, 
Colo.) 

■<$►•<♦ <J* ^ 

In two isolated communities are little two-roomed cottages pro- 
vided for the teachers. In one case the house is well furnished and 
cozy, costing $300, perhaps. The other is only a temporary house, 
costing perhaps $100. (Florence Salabar, County Superintendent, Du- 
rango, Colo.) 

4* ♦■ ■<♦ 4» 

We have no regular teachers' cottages in this county, but there are 
five districts in which teachers are keeping house, near the school- 
house. (Allie V. Richmond, County Superintendent, Las Animas, Colo.) 

♦ <* ♦ ♦ 

We have no cottages for teachers' residences in Logan County, but 
at Crook and in School district Number 25, rooms have been arranged 
in which the teachers reside. We are to have a new consolidated school 
at Dailey, and I hope that a teacherage will be provided there. (Flora 
A. Allison, County Superintendent, Sterling, Colo.) 

^ ■♦ ♦■ <♦ 

One district had to build a room for two teachers. A log, two-room 
schoolhouse is used for the teachers' cottage in one of the rural districts. 
"We surely need it, hasten the day." "We have one cottage that is a 
complete success and hope to have more." Three rural districts are now 
using old schoolhouses partly furnished for the teachers. "Hope to have 
two at the end of the year." "I wish there were some in my county." In 
Huerfano County they have adopted the plan of building one or two rooms 
onto the schoolhouse, in which the teacher may live. These are owned 
by the district and no charge is made. By having these rooms they are 
able to employ a better class of teachers and it is more agreeable to the 
teachers and the expense to the district is small. (U. S. Bureau of Educa- 
tion.) 

ronnecticut. 

In one place the plan has been considered, in another place six teach- 
ers rent a house and run their own "mess." (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Page Tiventy-six 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



Delaware. 

In this State there is no movement at all which corresponds with the 
movement in the State of Washington for the erection of teachers' cot- 
tages. I wish we had such a movement and regret to say that we have 
nothing of the kind, (Charles A. Wagner, Commissioner of Education, 
Dover, Del.) 



Florida. 



Georgia. 



Idaho. 



"I favor the plan, think it a good idea." "A growing demand will 
bring them in a few years; we need them now." (U. S. Bureau of Educa- 
tion. ) 

"Planning for some in Hazelhurst." "It will solve some of our 
school problems." — (Monticello.) "It is the work we need." — (Miller.) 
One rented in Hoke County. "Would be glad to have them." (Randolph 
County.) "We are pushing the matter." (Reedville.) 

One for colored school in Newton County. Screvin County reports 
one furnished rent free to teacher. They have an excellent teacher whose 
good influence is felt in the community during the greater part of the 
year and whose job is permanent. Fulton County reports four principals 
who rent farms and live the year around near their schools, farming five 
months and teaching seven. Montgomery County reports a modern four- 
room cottage for teachers in a rural section of the country. At Bethsaida 
and Orianna homes are furnished to teachers rent free. County super- 
intendent remarks, "I had hoped to see many more diiring next two years, 
but alas, the war and cotton." (County superintendent of Laurens 
County.) 

Ben Hill County reports two teachers' cottages and finds them re- 
markably advantageous to the school, and hopes to build as soon as pos- 
sible a dwelling for the teachers in each school in the county, as they 
find it almost impossible to get boarding places for the teachers. Clinch 
County reports the pay of teachers so meager that nearly all teachers are 
single men or women and consequently there is no need for a home, just 
a boarding place. In Calhoun County two schools have cottages, one 
serves as a dormitory for some of the pupils, the other is a very comfort- 
able cottage and serves for the teacher only. Plan is reported successful 
and the county superintendent will be glad to have one for every school. 
Spalding County reports that this question is one of the most important 
to their schools. In some instances they have failed to secure teachers 
that they wanted because of the difficulty of finding a boarding place. 
They have one cottage owned by the school authorities, but control four 
other residences for the use of their teachers. They are striving to pro- 
vide a cottage for each regular school of the county. Jefferson County 
reports that it is becoming more difficult for teachers to find suitable 
boarding places, and the solution of this problem would be held as an 
important step. Cobb County reports that it is becoming a serious prob- 
lem to secure boarding houses for teachers. With meager salaries teach- 
ers are not able to pay the price of board, caused by high prices and the 
great disposition to charge them extravagantly for board. (U. S. Bureau 
of Education.) 

In Bonner County at the present time there have been built four 
cottages by the school districts for the use of the teachers. The first 
one was built at Elmira, Idaho, three years ago at a cost of about $1,200. 
It is a concrete building, having three rooms with a good basement be- 
neath. The school building and cottage is in a natural grove of pine and 
fir trees which has been sowed so that now they have a nice park of 
blue grass and white clover. The teacher and her sister have occupied 
the cottage for the last three terms, or ever since it was built. The 
teacher does the regular school work and the sister gives music lessons 

"^age Twenty-seven 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 

Idaho, 

on the piano to the school children, and takes care of the school lunches 
which are served every noon free by the district to the children. Before 
the cottage vi^as built the district had never employed the same teacher 
for two consecutive years. The present teacher will be there as long 
as she stays in the school work. 

The second building was built two years ago and is a frame build- 
ing. It cost $1,200, and has five rooms with closets and bathroom. The 
ground belonging to the district is a 10-acre lot which is used as an 
experiment station for the school. Two acres of the ground has been 
parked and seeded down with blue grass and white clover. The people 
of the district take great pride in the cottage and grounds, and in this 
district, as well as the first one mentioned, from the pride that has been 
taken in the school grounds the patrons have been led to take better 
care of the houses and yards at their homes. 

The third cottage was built in an Italian settlement, and consists 
of three rooms. It cost not to exceed $400. This building was built so 
that the teachers who could not find a good place to board could have 
a place to live. At this school there are now three young ladies teach- 
ing, and they occupy the cottage. It was built two years ago, and since 
then the same teachers have taught the school. Before that time it was 
almost impossible to get teachers, and we could never get a teacher to 
go back the second year. Everything now is kept much neater about 
the school yards, and the children seem to take more pride in keeping 
their clothes and bodies clean. This is an improvement that was needed 
very badly. 

The fourth cottage has been occupied by a family of the district that 
were too far from school to attend. This family moves into the cottage 
at the beginning of each school season. 

Since these cottages have been built a number of the other districts 
have taken up the plan, and will build as soon as times get better. The 
cottage in this county has come to stay, and I hope in the future to see 
one in almost every district in the county. (J. W. Ramsey, County Super- 
intendent, Sandpoint, Ida.) 

♦♦♦ ^* ^ ^ 
"Something must be done soon as the boarding place for the rural 
teacher is an unsolved problem." State superintendent reports that 
some districts have been able to make patrons open their homes by 
threatening to build cottages. One con^munity building near Coldwell 
has not proven a success on account of the difficulty of getting a good 
principal. In Shoshone County the trustees permit the teachers, a man 
and wife, to live in the basement of the school building because all the 
ranch houses are small and there is no other place for the teacher to 
secure accommodations. Freemont County reports two cottages for the 
teachers and another in progress of construction. These are two-room 
cottages and have proven quite successful for the weather is very severe 
in winter and the snow deep. It gives the teacher much more time for 
her work and solves the boarding problem. These districts, having a 
great mileage of railroad, are in good financial condition and can afford 
to build these buildings. In district 52 the building is used for domestic 
science and manual training because the teacher is a home girl living 
within easy reach of the schoolhouse. All of these cottages are well 
furnished and well equipped for the teacher, free. (U. S. Bureau of 
Education.) 



Illinois. 



The teachers' cottage at the John Swaney Consolidated School was 
remodeled from the old one-room schoolhouse. The school employs six 
teachers. The teachers board with the janitor, and his family. The 
Directors secure the janitor, and make all arrangements for the comforts 
of the teachers. The teachers pay their board. (See illustrations, 
pages 29, 30. 

Page Twenty -eight 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



W^D ROOApS K/TCHEN 
3x/2 \^ . 3x/2 



^ 



B£D ROOM 



ROOM 





First Floor Plan 



Second Floor Plan 



Indiana. 



Floor Plans of Teacher's Cottage, Consolidated School, Putnam County, Illinois 
Remodeled from Old Schoolhouse 

At present the Principal is a married man, and lives in another 
house, formerly used by the janitor. This year 113 pupils are accom- 
modated; 55 of these are in the High School. (Walter A. Paxson, County 
Superintendent, Hennepin, 111.) 

+♦♦ ♦+♦ ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ 

Our teachers' cottage is a two-story frame building with a finished 
attic. On the first floor there is a large hall, a parlor, library, dining 
room and kitchen. On the second floor there are five bed rooms and the 
bathroom. The attic is well finished, making one large well lighted and 
well heated room. There is a basement under the whole house. We 
have all modern conveniences, such as furnace heat, hot and cold water 
and gas light. The building cost $10,000. 

The janitor's wife is the landlady. The janitor, his wife, and their 
two daughters make the teachers' cottage their home. The janitor 
pays $25 per month for use of the house and charges the teachers $5 per 
week for board and room. All of the eight teachers get their meals at 
the cottage, and all but one room there. An illustration of the cottage 
is shown on page 30. (Alfred Tate, Principal, Consolidated School, 
Rollo, 111.) 

Several one-room school buildings have been remodeled into dwell- 
ings in which janitors of consolidated schools live and board the teachers. 
(Chas. A. Greathouse, State Superintendent, Indianapolis.) 



Fage Twenty-nine 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



The cottage at the Wayne Consolidated School is, at present, occu- 
pied by the janitor who boards three of the teachers of the schools. It 
is the intention next year to employ a married principal who will have 
charge of this residence. The building is connected with the school 
building for light and water. It is divided into six rooms and a little 
reception hall. This is the only teachers' cottage which we have in use 
at this time, although we have others in preparation. We made the 
mistake when we began consolidation of removing the old buildings, a 
thing which should never be done. 

We have 9 6 abandoned school buildings in this County, many of 
which have been converted into residences. Every consolidated school 
should have its residence and I am quite sure you are right in stating 
that "A teacher's cottage is proving to be a step in advance towards 
school improvement in the country districts." (Lee L. Driver, County 
Superintendent, Winchester, Ind.) 

♦♦♦ ij* ♦jf <♦ 

"Needs some in a few places." "Under proper conditions I think it 
would be advisable." Brookville reports the Catholics furnish sisters 
cottages in four different places in the county, they teaching in the 
public schools but in all instances the congregation own the school build- 
ing as well as the cottage, and the township has nothing to do in the 
matter except to pay rent for the school building. Kokomo, Ind., has 
one small cottage for the principal in an elementary school. Reported 
the plan is a good one. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 



Teacher's Cottage at John Swaney Consol- 
idated School, Remodeled from Old School- 
house, Putnam County, Illinois 




Teachers' Residence at Consolidated School, Rollo, Illinois. Eight Teachers 
Board at This House and Seven of Them Room in it 



Page Thirty 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



In three new rural consolidated districts they are planning to build 
cottages for the principals. (Stone Lake.) 

In one rural district the patrons oppose the completion of a house 
for the teacher, partly built. "Board is quite a problem in Scott County." 
In Clay County two six-room cottages are built for two of the consolidated 
schools, one at Garfield Center and one at Cornell. They are rented free, 
the principals are paid $100 per month, the teachers board with the 
principal. They are very successful. Apponoose County reports they 
would be fortunate if they did own homes for the teachers for the ques- 
tion of board in the rural districts is a serious problem. They have had 
a few cases where the teacher could not secure board within the school 
district and was required to board out of the district. Dooly County re- 
ports one public school having a teacher's cottage that has proven very 
convenient and satisfactory to all concerned. Lyon County reports, 
"There is no question in my mind that homes furnished to teachers in 
many of our towns and cities, even if a reasonable rent is charged, would 
prove of invaluable aid in that it would free from her mind the care 
of finding suitable and welcome homes in many of our towns and cities." 

State Superintendent reports that consolidated districts are giving 
this matter consideration and expect to have many more of these homes 
in the near future. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

There is nothing in the school laws of Kansas that would permit the 
issuance of bonds for the purpose of buying or building a teachers' cot- 
tage. If this could be accomplished by the issuance of warrants or pay- 
ing out the money on hand, there will probably be no legal objections. 

I agree with you that the teachers' cottage is one of the future 
necessities, if our rural schools are to be continued, and even if they 
are to be improved on the plans of consolidation, even then the cottage 
will be a future necessity that more maturity of mind and stability of 
position be secured. I hope that Kansas will soon follow the splendid 
example that "Washington has set. (W. D. Ross, State Superintendent, 
Topeka, Kansas.) 



Four county superintendents report great difficulty in securing a 
boarding place for the teachers and will welcome any plan to solve the 
problem. One remarks, "At the rate the board is soaring I think it will 
soon come." Four county superintendents report that they think it an 
excellent plan and that they need it. One reports the plan not feasible 
"Because we have generally ladies aged from 18 to 25." Garden City, 
Kansas, reports that some of their teachers have to pay one-third of 
their wages each month for board and do not near get what they pay 
for, and then sometimes have to walk from one to three miles to school. 
Stafford County reports that two girls taught in adjoining districts, rented 
a tenant cottage from a farmer, living about midway between the two 
schoolhouses, and by boarding together they managed to teach in their 
respective districts. He reports that all the teachers have a great deal 
of trouble getting places to room and board and when they do find a 
place to board the price is as high if not higher in the rural districts 
than in town and the wages are much lower. (U. S. Bureau of Educa- 
tion.) 

Kentucky. 

"Believe plan an excellent one." "I greatly favor plan." County 
high school in Breckinridge County has a teachers' cottage. Oldham has 
one in a rural school. "I hope to see the time come when every school 
building will be equipped with a teachers' cottage." — (Franklin County.) 

^ Page Thirty-one 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Kentucky. 

"The problem of a home for the teacher is each year more and more dif- 
ficult to solve, which is, I think, a strong argument for centralization and 
consolidation of rural schools." — (Owensboro.) One school in Owen 
County furnishes a home for the principal and family free. County super- 
intendent thinks this idea needs pushing to the front as it is so difficult 
for teachers to secure board. Montgomery County reports it is impos- 
sible for teachers in some districts to get board, consequently cannot get 
good teachers to take some of the first-class schools, boarding conditions 
being so deplorable. County superintendent says, "I said this fall I 
could see no way out unless we built a school home on schoolground, or 
rooms over school building, or a cottage. I am one who would be so glad 
to know what to do in the matter for I am anxious to do the best for 
our children." Cumberland County reports that in one of the graded 
schools the building is large enough to have rooms for the principal and 
family and all of the teachers. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Louisiana. 

Special departments of domestic science are operated in about two 
hundred of our public schools. These departments are supported partly by 
special state aid. A number of domestic science cottages have been built 
in the various parishes. The parish school boards have ample authority 
in law to build cottages for the purpose of providing quarters for the 
domestic science work. (T. H. Harris, State Superintendent, Baton 
Rouge, La.) 

•^ *> ♦> ♦♦♦ 

"Such a move would be good as the teachers do not stay long enough 
in a place." "Have been considering the matter." "The city of New 
Orleans gave recently several thousand acres of swamp land, 1,000 acres 
of which was to be set off as a home for teachers but nothing has been 
done toward accepting the gift." "Two rural consolidated schools are 
now planning to build homes for the principal." (Lafayette Parish.) 

"Choudrant has established an agricultural and domestic science high 
school and in connection with this school purchased and remodeled a 
six-room cottage; also furnished it completely as a teacher's home." The 
agricultural teacher is kept the entire year and they have 20 acres on 
the school farm and campus. 

De Soto rents two cottages owned by the school authorities to the 
principals but it is the intention to give them rent free as soon as the 
district is out of debt. 

Three other parishes are to try teachers' cottages. 

Avoyelles Parish reports one cottage and that the experiment has 
proven very successful. 

Lincoln Parish is attempting to have 20 acres for every consolidated 
school in the parish. 

The Olla Agricultural School furnishes a cottage as a home for the 
principal where the other teachers sometimes board. The school term 
is nine months and the agriculturist gives his entire time to the work. 
They report the plan a success and wish for one in each district and 
parish. 

Monroe reports one cottage used by the teacher at Swartz rent free. 

The Dodson Agricultural High School owns a home for the principal 
but rent is paid. 

Grant Parish reports one school cottage that they own and let the 
principal of the school have free of rent and by that means save some 
funds in his salary that will eventually pay for the cottage. (U S. Bureau 
of Education.) 

Maine. 

A home for the residence of the teacher has been, I believe, con- 
structed on one of the islands which is a part of the town of Jonesport or 



Page Thirty-two 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



Jonesboro. There has been some agitation in some of the other towns 
for teachers' cottages or for housekeeping rooms connected with school 
buildings, but inquiry has failed to bring out definite information as to 
these. (Payson Smith, State Superintendent, Augusta, Me.) 

Maryland. 

"Nothing has been done in Maryland along the line referred to in the 
bulletin of the State Department of Education of Washington. (B. K. 
Purdum, Assistant State Superintendent, Annapolis, Md.) 

Massachusetts. 

Three years ago a house was built for the principal of the high school 
at Hadley from funds belonging to the school by private bequest. It is 
an eight-room house, costing about $5,000. It was planned by a former 
principal, Mr. J. E. Heald, now of the Bureau of Agricultural Education, 
Department of Agriculture, Washington. It is very attractive and con- 
venient. 

Last year a small cottage on the high school grounds was fitted up 
for teaching household arts. In the upper story two rooms were fitted 
up for teachers' use. The Domestic Science teacher and two other teachers 
room there. The pupils in the school do practically all the housekeeping. 
(Clinton J. Richards, Superintendent, Hatfield, Mass.) 

Michigan. 

"Would like to have the plan tested." (Traverse City, Mich.) 

Alger County reports that at Limestone a house is furnished rent 
free to the teacher and that this house is owned by the township school 
board. 

Also at Chatham a house owned by the township is furnished rent 
free to the township superintendent. 

Menominee built a bungalow for the county agricultural school which 
is now used by the superintendent. The cost of this house was $3,000. 
They also built a house for the janitor at a cost of $1,800. These houses 
were built because, it is necessary to keep these men on the premises 
during the entire year. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Minnesota. 

The sections of the Minnesota school laws which bear particularly 
on this question are quoted as follows by C. C. Swain, Rural School 
Commissioner, St. Paul, Minn.: 

"Section 1. Two or more school districts of any kind may con- 
solidate either by the formation of a new district or by the annexation 
of one or more districts of unorganized territory to an existing district 
in which is maintained a state graded, semi-graded, or high school as 
hereinafter provided." 

"Section 8. For the purpose of promoting a better condition in rural 
schools, and to encourage industrial training, including the elements of 
agriculture, manual training and home economics, the board in a consol- 
idated school district is authorized to establish schools of two or more 
departments, provide for the transportation of pupils, or expend a reason- 
able amount for room and board of pupils whose attendance at school 
can more economically and conveniently be provided for by such means; 
locate and acquire sites of not less than two acres, and erect necessary 
and suitable buildings thereon, including a suitable dwelling for teachers, 
when money therefor has been voted by the district. They shall submit 
to the superintendent of education a plat of the school grounds, indi- 
cating the site of the proposed buildings, plans and specifications for the 
school building and its equipment and the equipment of the premises." 

Page Thirty-three 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Minnesota. 




Teacher's Cottage in St, Louis County, Minnesota 

"Section 10. The principal of a consolidated school shall be qualified 
to teach the elements of agriculture, as determined by such tests as are 
required by the superintendent of education. A school of this class shall 
have suitable rooms and equipment for industrial and other work, a 
library, and necessary apparatus and equipment for efficient work, and 
a course of study embracing such branches as may be prescribed by the 
superintendent of education." 

^* ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ *** 

We have teachers' homes at the following schools in what is known 
as the unorganized district of St. Louis County; No. 14, four teachers; 
No. 40, two teachers; No. 41, one teacher; No. 45, two teachers; No. 56, 
two teachers; No. 68, two teachers; No. 71, three teachers; No. 73, one 
teacher; No. 70, two teachers; No. 83, three teachers; No. 85, three 
teachers. There are about an equal number of cottages for teachers in 
the rural schools in other districts of the county. Our plan for these 
buildings is not uniform, but in all cases except one the cottage is a 
part of the main building. (See illustrations, pages 34, 35.) Our 
object in making the cottage a part of the main building is to economize 
in the matter of cost of construction and to enable this little household 
to be used in connection with the instruction of the children in domestic 
arts. As a general rule the cottage part of the main building costs us 
about $600, and in addition thereto we are at an outlay of $300 for 
furniture. The buildings are equipped completely in every way with 
all the necessary furniture and kitchen ware. This method of taking 
care of the teachers we are following up, not because it is impossible 
to secure boarding places in all instances, although that condition of 
affairs frequently prevails, but rather because it enables us to secure 
better talent and to retain our teachers for a longer period of time. 
No rent is charged, and no charge is made for fuel. The teachers 
live usually at a cost of from $5 to $10 a month each. (N. A, Young, 
Superintendent of Schools, Duluth, Minn.) 

■^ ^ *J* ♦> 

When I came here the first of August, 1913, to take charge of this 
school, there was no house available, and, as you may know, this school 
is five miles from Barnum and two miles from Nemadji, it was up to 
some one to provide a house, and as the laws of Minnesota did not permit 

Page Thirty-four 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



the district to bond for such purposes, some one else had to come to the 
rescue, so eight of the patrons signed a joint note for nearly $1,000 and 
asked me to draft a plan, which they accepted. The house is only partly 
finished and won't be completed before next summer. I succeeded in 
getting our Senator to put a bill through permitting the district to bond 
for such purposes, but they stopped too soon as they did not authorize 
the State Investment Board to loan state money for that purpose, so we 
had to levy $1,100 to buy the house as it stands and next year we will 
levy again the same amount, and then can complete the house without 
bonding. 

It makes a pretty stiff tax but after two years it will be paid for. 
It will cost about $2,200 as near as we can tell. It may be a trifle less 
according to a contractor's estimate on the completion of the house. 

The house is 26x30, and will be two stories high, with a plain roof 
and a deck 8x10. It will have a porch in front 9x22, and a woodshed and 
enclosed porch in the rear, and the enclosed part of the porch will cover 
the outside entrance for the teachers to go upstairs, as that will be for 
them. We have four rooms downstairs with dimensions as follows, as 
near as I can remember: Front room, 14x16. Dining room, 14x14. 
Bedroom, 12x14. Kitchen, 14x14, with the exception of cellar way and 
stairs on part of one side. (See floor plans, page 36.) 



\ f</TCH£N~> 



VI 




N^ 



CLO^K ROOM 



CLASS fiOOM 



Floor Plan, Combination School House and Teacher's Residence, 
St. Louis County, Minnesota 

Tage Thirty -five 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



.Minnesota. 





First Floor Plan Second Floor Plan 

Floor Plans, Teachers' Cottage, Barniim, Minnesota 

The upstairs will have two bedrooms for teachers and a sitting room 
between, and a dining room and kitchen combined about 16x16, and a 
bedroom for a girl if they want to hire someone to do the work. Her room 
is off from the kitchen and is not connected with their apartments. Each 
bedroom is provided with a good closet. The house will have a hot-air 
furnace, but no bath or toilet. The cost of the furnace is not included 
in the $2,200 mentioned before, as I did not want a furnace while I was 
here, as I know how hard it is to heat a house to suit lady teachers, and 
as yet I haven't gone into the janitor business and I don't expect to, so 
there won't be any furnace as long as I stay, but they are building so they 
can if they wish to later on. I have my reasons for not wanting to be 
under any obligations whatever to the teachers who are teaching under 
my supervision, and I feel they are well grounded after my experience 
here. 

I feel that the teachers' home is the only solution of the teacher 
problem in the small towns and rural communities, but I am convinced 
there should be no responsibility between superintendent and teachers as 
to rent, heat, or anything of the kind. 

The house will accommodate the superintendent and family and four 
teachers if they hire their work done, and six if they do not, and I am 
sure from past experience they will do their own work, as it is much 
cheaper. We have a good three-year High School, and as soon as our 
enrollment forces them to build an addition, which they plan to do later, 
we will put in the full High School course. (E. V. Hemsworth, Superin- 
tendent, Consolidated School District No. 8, Barnum, Minn.) 



Page Thirty-six 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



Mahnomen County reports one district furnishing a residence for the 
teacher and says, "I wish every school in our county could have build- 
ings like this, as the teacher feels as though she really has a home and 
she is not inconvenienced by long walks through the bad weather and 
does not have to build fires and wait in a cold room for the room to heat. 
A place for the teacher to board is one of our greatest problems, and in 
a home furnished the teacher as above she does not feel like an intruder 
as she often does when boarding with a private family." 

A consolidated district. No. 9, near Morris, furnishes a residence for 
the principal and two lots of ground. They charge rent sufficient to keep 
up the property. The plan is satisfactory. 

In Red Lake County cottages are very much needed, as in many 
cases teachers are boarding under very unfavorable conditions, and in 
some cases the schools were compelled to remain closed. The Saum 
consolidated school has a building used for such a purpose. 

In Carleton County one of the consolidated schools was compelled 
to build a house, as the principal informed them he would have to resign 
if no accommodations could be made. The freeholders of the district 
formed a building association, borrowed money on a joint note and built 
a building of six rooms. This building was placed on blocks so that it can 
be moved if necessary, as the state has given no authority to build build- 
ings on school ground. The district rents the house to the principal for 
$140 a year.. The principal rents rooms to teachers, who board at his 
home. The b'uilding association do not expect to make money out of the 
project nor do they care to lose any. Their intention is to turn it over 
to the district at cost as soon as the law allows them to do so. 

Stearns County has 22 districts that provide teachers' cottages rent 
free. In all instances these schools are of the one-room rural type and 
are taught by married men. The salaries, in addition to the use of the 
cottage, approach about $650 per year. In a number of instances a plot 
of ground from one to thirteen acres is placed at the disposal of the 
teacher. Many of these men have been in their respective positions for 
a number of years and are giving good satisfaction. (U. S. Bureau of 
Education.) 

Mississippi. 

George County. In a consolidated district the old two-room two- 
teacher school building was transformed into a home for the principal 
and they have a splendid man and his wife as head and primary teacher 
whom they could not have secured without this home. They report that 
this example of a teacherage is encouraging other school districts to 
take up the matter and they hope for many more teachers' cottages. 

Jackson County at the Daisy- Vestry School, a rural school 30 miles 
from a railroad, has a cottage called a dormitory across the road from 
the school. It was built about five years ago by a donation of land, 
labor and material. Up to that time the teacher had to board about two 
miles from the schoolhouse as the district is thinly settled and the 
schoolhouse is located between two settlements. The house is located 
on 80 acres of land and belongs to the school. (U. S. Bureau of Educa- 
tion.) 

Missouri. 

An old cottage at Bigelow on grounds recently acquired. Will be 
remodeled by the School Board. (S. W. Skelton, Bigelow, Mo.) 

*X* *X* *> *> 

"The question of good boarding places is fast becoming a problem. 
Hard time to get any boarding place." "In my judgment this would 
be the greatest means toward securing better teachers for longer terms." 
(Picture of the home of a Franklin County teacher, showing that some 
teachers live in tents in Missouri, was enclosed.) 

"The city of Bloomfield furnishes a cottage for the superintendent." 
(U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Page Thirty-seven 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Montana. 

We are very glad to have the school districts erect cottages for the 
use of the teachers where they can do so. There are, however, very 
few rural districts in the State where such cottages would be specially 
desirable, that are financially in a position at present to do anything 
about the matter. (H. A. Davee, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Helena, Mont.) 

'^ ^^ ^ ^ 

Park County. One rural district built a two-room teacher's cottage 
near the schoolhouse and connected it by a good walk to the schoolhouse. 
If the teacher is a young girl and timid about staying alone, one of the 
big girls who lives quite a distance from the school stays with her. They 
report it a success. 

Blaine County reports that a number of teachers live in their own 
claim shacks and have the pupils come to them and that by this plan 
the teacher in her own shack is not subjected to the nervous strain and 
does not hear the gossip of the neighborhood nor worry over the crit- 
icisms which are the lot of the teacher boarding with one of the patrons. 

Cascade County reports one teacher's cottage which is claimed to 
be satisfactory. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Nebraska. 

This is a consolidated school, value $7,500. Was built by bonding 
district; main building, 54x32, with 10x20 entrance; library, 10x11; 
porch with hall eight feet across the building. Enter from both north 
and south side; full basement, 54x32; Domestic Science room, 32 x 26; 




Schoolhouse, Teacher's Cottage and Barn for Pupils' Horses, Berwyn. Custer County, 

Nebraska. School Board in Front of Schoolhouse. Teacher Feeding 

Chickens in Barnyard 



Page Thirty-eight 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



2^CR£ PLOT 



PLy^y GROUND 



SCHOOL HOUSE 




o 
5:° 




5*)?! 




PUBLIC RO^D 

Layout of School Grounds, District No. 33, Custer County, Nebraska 

girls' toilet to front, 8x22; boys' toilet to back, 12x22; front room, 
12x28. Pressure tank; hot and cold water; water furnished by gas 
engine, pumped direct to pressure tank; a complete generating system. 
The foundation is of cement and pressed brick; hot air heat; cost of 
building, equipped, $4,500, exclusive of furniture. Have a high school 
of first class up to 10th grade. This is our second year in the new 
school house. We will clean up our indebtedness this year. We pay 
our principal $85; primary teacher, $55; furnish principal with cottage 
and room for keeping chickens. Have two acres of ground; six cherry 
trees, 45 shade trees, small, but this is a fine valley, situated fourteen 
miles southeast of Baker, on Billings Line B. M. R. Our school house is 
situated about 300 yards south of R. R. line, five miles west of Ansley. 
We expect to increase our grades as we need them. I will send you a 
rough sketch of school grounds and the location of same. (See illus- 
trations, pages 38 and 39.) We have fourteen high school pupils; thirty- 
eight primary pupils. (J. H. Linder, Director, Dist. 33, Berwyn, Custer 
Co., Neb.) 



McGill, White Pine County, has a six-room house occupied by six 
teachers and equipped with all modern conveniences. It was built by 
the trustees because no suitable boarding places could be obtained and 
has been most advantageous to the community. (U. S. Bureau of Edu- 
cation.) 



New Hampshrre. 

No teachers' cottages reported. 



Tage Thirty -nine 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



New Jersey. 

Reports no teachers' cottages. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

New Mexico. 

One place is trying the teacher's cottage plan this year. It is a se- 
rious problem in this State in many districts. (U. S. Bureau of Edu- 
cation.) 

New York. 

Reports one teacher's cottage (Nassau County) valued at $5,000 
rented to the principal at a reasonable rent, also one cottage used for 
janitor. 

Another one is not owned by the district but given rent free to 
the superintendent. One of the buildings is so divided that the teacher 
lives in one side and the school is held in the other. Two of the dis- 
trict superintendents wished for teachers' cottages near districts and two 
did not. Another reports that board can always be obtained in good 
families at reasonable compensations and that the teacher occupies a 
good place in the social scale and that her company is much sought after 
in rural homes. 

Putnam County reports one cottage which the teacher receives rent 
free. The cottage is owned, however, by William Church Osborn of 
Garrison. Mr. Osborn owns and runs a free circulating library of which 
the principal of the school is the librarian. For this work, Mr. Osborn 
pays a salary and furnishes him a very fine home. He also receives light 
and heat free. 

Portland County has a teacher's cottage for the union school at 
Truxton but at present it is occupied by the janitor. 

Saratoga County, second district, reports that there are several local- 
ities where it is with the utmost difficulty that a teacher can obtain any 
kind of a suitable board or lodging place and that this is one of the 
great obstacles in the way of obtaining any kind of proper teaching in 
the rural districts. The only way that they can obtain teachers is to get 
a license for someone in the neighborhood who can board at home and 
this often results in maintaining school to comply with the law but not 
with any idea of improving the mental condition of the pupils in the 
school. But he reports that "the people of these communities are appar- 
ently satisfied with conditions as they exist but the problems that these 
conditions present to the superintendent are so many and so varied as to 
try the ingenuity of the best, it seems to me." (U. S. Bureau of Edu- 
cation.) 

North Carolina. 

Hoke County reports that all the high schools are well provided 
with nice homes for the principals located on the ground. In two of the 
country districts, homes have been built where they attempt to get a 
man and his wife to come and teach the school. These are all in two- 
room districts. In this county it is a new feature but they believe it is 
going to prove very satisfactory. The County Superintendent remarks, 
"We hope to soon be able to employ the teachers for the whole year and 
have them do odd jobs in the summer like looking after the library, 
conducting community meetings, taking the census, looking after the 
corn clubs and the canning clubs. We hope to use these homes for 
teaching domestic science on a small scale and serve a hot lunch occa- 
sionally to the school. We want to make the teacher a permanent factor 
in the community all the year round." 

Gates County has a dormitory used as a teachers' home for which 
the teacher pays rent and also for the land attached — about 25 acres. 
This land, however, is sublet and no demonstration work is done. Union 
County reports one teacher's home at the high school of Wesley Chapel 
and the County Superintendent believes that the teachers' cottage adds 



Page Forty 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



a great deal to the equipment of schools like Wesley Chapel. Cleveland 
County reports one teacher's cottage in the Belwood School where the 
principal lives all the year and manages the school farm of 10 acres. 
Iredell County has a dormitory in connection with the Farm Life School 
which is occupied by the teacher of agriculture. Pamlico County is 
erecting an eight-room home at the expense of the district at Merritt, 
The County Superintendent says, "We are meeting with many inquiries 
as to how we raised the money for this work, etc., and in reply to them 
all will say that the good people went down in their jeans and gave me 
the money to erect this home with. We are able to get more efficient 
teachers for the same money and they live happier and better and are 
giving us better service than they can where they have to adapt them- 
selves to the condition of any family that they live with. This home 
will be the community center of this place, we are sure, from the way 
things are developing now." 

Wilson County. At the Rock Ridge County high school and at 
Lucama there are dormitories that the teachers use as a teachers' home. 
These dormitories are furnished by the school. Two cottages, one at 
Yadkinville and one at Courtney, are furnished to the teachers but the 
teachers are required to pay the insurance on the building. (U. S. 
Bureau of Education.) 

North Dakota. 

Twenty-two cottages were reported to the State Department last 
year and they were a success. 

Crosby County. The teacher built her own house from money earned 
by giving a social. In McHenry County, one old school building was 
fixed over for a teacher's cottage. One county reports a five-room modern 
house built for one of the two-teacher schools and a two-room house 
built for a one-teacher school. Buckingworth County reports an old 
schoolhouse built over for a teacher's cottage. Burleigh County reports 
one district remodeling the old school building and one preparing plans 
for a teachers' home in connection with the new schoolhouse. Hettinger 
County reports several teachers living in the schoolhouse because suit- 
able boarding places could not be secured. This is satisfactory where 
the teacher can get some girl pupil to stay with her. 

In Lamoure County, the consolidated school district of Glenmore 
rebuilt one of the old schoolhouses and used it for a teacher's cottage, 
furnishing it rent free. In another district a room was built on to the 
one-room rural schoolhouse. In this district (Ray) it was practically 
impossible for the teacher to find a suitable boarding place as the neigh- 
borhood was entirely made up of foreigners. This room was equipped 
with a blue flame stove, cot, etc. The teacher furnished his own bedding. 

Bowman County. The Beaver District owns two small houses which 
are used by the teachers free and the Sunset Butte District owns one 
similarly used and it will only be a short time before they have two 
such cottages in their rural districts on account of the difficulty of se- 
curing board and boarding places. 

Williams County has two districts with teachers' cottages, one a 
consolidated school district and one a one-room rural school building 
where the old building was converted into a very comfortable home for 
the principal's family. All are free and the plan has worked admirably. 
On stormy days the pupils are taken care of by the teacher until the 
parents come to take them home. This seems to have worked to the 
satisfaction of this district. 

Walsh County reports that in a consolidation of three one-teacher 
one-room schools, two of the old school buildings were moved on to the 
grounds and remodeled into teachers' cottages. This will furnish a home 
for the principal and two assistant teachers, the use of the cottages being 
free. Ransom County reports five in the consolidated school districts 



Page Forty-one 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Ohio. 



and also remarks, "I am pleased to say that it is an unqualified success. 
Stutsmore County reports one teacher's cottage in the school yard which 
accommodates the principal and his family and two teachers. It is very 
satisfactory." (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Knox County has a teacher's home at Mount Vernon which is a 
comfortable and substantial residence occupied by city superintendent of 
schools, a fair rental price for which is figured as a part of his salary. 
Superintendents have occupied this residence for the past 21 years at 
least. 

Union County reports a "domin(ie)age" located at Allen Center on 
the school grounds — a full-sized house. The principal lives in it with 
his family and boards the other teachers. The plan is entirely satis- 
factory so far as the superintendent knows. 

The superintendent of Mahoney County remarks that with the advent 
of centralized schools this is just what Northeastern Ohio needs and that 
a bill before the legislature a few years ago asking for this very privi- 
lege failed. 

The superintendent of Jefferson County states that "it is now a 
problem for us." No place to stay; must get a teacherage in the dis- 
trict, are very common statements. Many teachers travel many miles 
to and from school — some as a matter of choice, some of necessity. The 
school loses. 

Hocking County reports that it is a serious problem for them to 
keep the teachers on account of no living place available. Defiance 
County reports a fine dwelling house in the Bryan village school which 
is occupied by the head of the school. It has been a great factor in aid- 
ing them to get good men for superintendents. (U. S. Bureau of Edu- 
cation.) 




Rural School and Teacher's Cottage, McClain County, Oklahoma 

Oklahoma. 

In reply to your request for information regarding the establishment 
of "Teacherages" in McClain County: I am enclosing a picture of one 
of our rural schools which also shows the cottage. I am also enclosing 
a rough pencil sketch of the floor plan and the general plat of the school 
grounds. (See illustrations, pages 42, 43.) 

As you will note from the picture the grounds are not yet highly 
improved as they will be in the future. This you know is a new State, 
and we cannot do all at once, but there are some great improvements 
being made. 

In my opinion the teachers' cottage comes nearer solving the prob- 
lem of rural education than any other one idea yet advanced. It would 
take several pages to discuss the many benefits resulting from it, and 

Page Forty-two 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 




Layout of Rural School Grounds in McClain County, Oklahoma 



then it must be seen to be appreciated. Many apparently necessary 
evils of the rural educational problem find their solution automatically 
in the establishment of a permanent home for the teachers. 

We hope to some day have a teachers' home for every schoolhouse in 
McClain County. As yet we do not have a great many. They are rap- 
idly attracting the attention of educators and officials everywhere; in 
fact, the demand for information has been so strong that I shall have 
to request you to return the enclosed picture as soon as you have made 
your sketch. (S. M. McCuistion, County Superintendent, Purcell, Okla.) 



<* 



*> 



There are two teachers' cottages in the county. (See page 45.) They 
are not expensive buildings; in fact, they are just box houses. They were 
put up merely as an experiment, but have proved very satisfactory. They 
have enabled the district to get settled men for principals of their school, 
and have helped them to hold these teachers for a series of years. They 
have also found that the school property has been much better cared 
for by having a teacher living on the corner of the grounds where he 
can see after it. The school property has been kept up in a much nicer 
shape. I think it will be an excellent thing if we had a law permitting 
boards to spend the district funds in this way. At present there is no 
law for it in Oklahoma. (L. L. Sturgeon, County Superintendent, We- 
woka, Okla.) 

Page Forty-three 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Oklahoma. 

Hughes County reports five teacherages that are proving quite a 
success but in some of them the teachers are required to pay rent. One 
teacher's cottage is reported in Pittsburgh County in District No. 27. 

In Antlers County one district has a house for the teacher and the 
reason for this house is as follows: "Several years ago the teacher had 
a good deal of difficulty in securing a house to rent. He finally built 
in the corner of the school yard, which was a large one, and at the close 
of school sold the building to the district. It has proved to be a great 
convenience and they have no trouble now in getting a married man 
for a teacher. The school is located in a small village." 

Seminole County has two teachers' cottages in the rural districts 
and the plan is proving very satisfactory. In one instance this year the 
teacher has spent all his odd time during the school term and during 
his vacation time in keeping the school ground in shape. One of these 
districts pays $75 and $50 for teachers, the other $90 and $60. In each 
instance the house is furnished the teachers free. 

Garvin County has two homes in the rural district schools and in 
each they furnish the fuel the same as they do for the regular school 
building. If the teacher does not occupy the home, an amount equal to 
the rent is deducted from his salary. The question of board is a very 
hard one to solve. The only reason they have no more homes in this 
county is because they have not the money to build them. 

Three cottages are reported in Lafiore County. In Jackson County 
two common school districts have cottages which are rented to teachers. 
"These cottages solve the problem of a boarding place for the teachers. 
They aid the district to secure married teachers which is very much 
desired by some districts. The teacher can better care for the school 
property, vandalism is reduced to a minimum, the teacher can do the 
janitor work and is always on time. There is no loitering on the school 
grounds after hours. There is no jealousy because a certain family 
boards the teacher. The teacher remains in longer periods of service 
and longer hours of service. The teacher can economize to suit herself. 
The cottage plan is satisfactory to us and I recommend it to school boards 
building new buildings as the house is cheaply constructed out of the 
old one." 

Medill, Oklahoma, reports that four rural districts have built neat 
dwellings on the school premises for the purpose of having a teacher on 
the school ground during the entire term of school. The teacher pays 
$6 a month into the school fund of the district. Board in the rural dis- 
tricts is almost impossible. Johnson County has one cottage and this 
district is most sought by the teachers in the county. The people of the 
district consider it a good investment. Marietta reports three rural 
districts in the county that have constructed teachers' cottages. The 
plan works admirably as many districts prefer men teachers who have 
families and the districts with teachers' homes have that advantage over 
those that have none. Some schools fail to get teachers because they 
cannot get a home. 

Jefferson County reports one rural district, a "live one," in a two- 
teacher school where a neat cottage has been erected as a home for the 
teacher. Immediately there were a number of successful teachers apply- 
ing for this school. This is the first year for this in this community. 
So confident of the merits of the measure is the superintendent that he 
proposes to advocate it in several school districts of the county. 

In Kiowa County two such homes are found. They are in consol- 
idated districts and in both cases the houses are reconstructed old school 

Page Forty-fotir 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 




Teachers' Cottages in Seminole County, Olslahoma 



buildings. The cottages are neat and h.omellke, althougli small. The 
superintendent states that he has had the pleasure of taking dinner with 
each of these teachers when visiting the schools. In one the home is 
furnished by the teacher and his family, in the other the home is fur- 
nished by the janitor and the teacher boards with his family. 

"Only one district in this county, McCurtain, owns a house for its 
teachers to live in. This cottage is rented by the school board to the 
teacher of the district. "We are just introducing this plan hence do not 
know how successfully it will work. The problem of suitable boarding 
places for teachers in this new county is a serious one. In some instances 
teachers have given up their schools on account of not being able to 
obtain suitable accommodations in the district. It is our plan to induce 
the districts in this county to purchase from five to ten acres of land, 
which is now very cheap, near their school sites and to erect thereon 
cottages for their teachers to live in, the plot of ground of five or ten 
acres to be used for experimental and demonstration work. In this way 
it is believed teachers can be induced to remain for a number of years 
in their positions and thus become leaders in the rural life of their re- 
spective communities. Living on the experimental farm adjacent to the 
school premises, they will be able to care for the district's school prop- 
erty, and attend to the giving out of library books. We believe this plan, 
if properly carried out, will result in filling our schools with more mature 
teachers, perhaps married people, who wish to remain in the community 
and thus become identified with the rural life in their respective com- 
munities." (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Page Forty-five 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Oregon. 

There has been but one teacher's cottage built in Josephine County. 
This is at Grants Pass, Dist. No. 7. Size, 24' x 34' — one-story. Wood 
studding, lathed and plastered, set on cement foundation. Five rooms. 
Bathroom, toilet, two closets. Cost, $1,000. (Lincoln Savage, County 
Superintendent, Grants Pass, Ore.) 

t^* JSt- ^* A 

V *V V */r 

In response to your inquiry concerning teachers' cottages, etc., will 
state that I am in hearty accord with the idea. So far, we have but one 
three-room teacher's cottage in this county, which is serving a very good 
purpose both to the teacher and the district. I should say that it is 
worth $25 a month to the district, and did not cost to exceed $300. It 
is continuously occupied. We shall have more of them. (J. W. Allen, 
County Superintendent, St. Helens, Ore.) 

•^ ^ ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ 
No teachers' cottages have been erected in this county. In three dis- 
tricts cottages are provided for the teachers by renting, but none have 
been built by the districts. (S. E. Notson, County Superintendent, 
Heppner, Ore.) 

♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ -^ ♦♦♦ 

In Monroe County, District No. 36, the house is furnished free to 
the present teacher who is a widow with three children. Without this 
house it would be impossible for any teacher to find a suitable boarding 
place and the district had agreed to furnish a house if a teacher could 
be secured for them. In District No. 8 a new two-room schoolhouse has 
been completed. The board is fitting up the old building as a cottage 
for the principal. In District No. 19 last year a house was furnished 
free to the teacher. She was a lady with three children of school age 
and the district needed these children to give them the needed apportion- 
ment. The house was an unoccupied farm house and no charge was 
made by the owner for rent. The County Superintendent is advocating 
the employment of teachers during 12 months of the year. During the 
vacation period, the teacher can direct the industrial work of the pupils. 
This will require the furnishing of a cottage. (U. S. Bureau of Edu- 
cation.) 

Pennsylvania. 

I know of no place in which the school board has erected cottages 
for teachers to live in. In my opinion a school board would be allowed 
to do this and thus pay for part of the teachers' compensation. 

The State, several years ago, erected a school building with a home 
on the Cornplanter Indian Reservation. This has been quite successful. 
(Nathan C. Shaeffer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Harrisburg, 
Pa.) 

■^ ^?* -^ ^ 

In the township high schools, Waterford Borough provides rooms 
partly furnished in an old academy building for the teachers. Two of 
the County Superintendents wish there were teachers' cottages in their 
county. Two more trust that the movement may spread. (U. S. Bureau 
of Education.) 

Rhode Island. 

No cottages reported from Rhode Island. (U. S. Bureau of Educa- 
tion.) 

South Carolina. 

A considerable number of South Carolina school districts have 
erected teachers' cottages. This work in the neighborhood depends abso- 
lutely upon local sentiment and local conditions. Such a cottage is per- 
missible under the law wherever school funds can bear the expense. 
(J. E. Swearingen, State Superintendent, Columbia, S. C.) 



Page Forty-six 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



The Teachers' Home at Pleasant Hill, Hamer, S. C, was an old 
church, which was repaired and remodeled. (T. H. Watson, Council, 
N. C.) 

*♦* *♦* *♦* *** 

We have a cottage, which is used by the superintendent of the 
schools, valued at about $3,000. It has four rooms downstairs and three 
rooms upstairs. The rooms are something like 16 x 16 feet. We have 
electric lights and water, and the old southern fire-places. What I think 
we need is a boarding hall for teachers. (D. R. Riser, Superintendent 
City Schools, Manning, S. C.) 

♦ji- +j<- ♦J* ♦J* 

Our school is perhaps a little different from most schools. It is 
located in a historic section of Anderson County. We have 125 acres of 
land in connection with our "Teachers' Home." Now in regard to size 
and construction: We have a six-room cottage, a long hall with three 
rooms on either side, a fire-place in all rooms except one, two rooms very 
small, the others fairly comfortable. I am a teacher in this school, and 
if you will pardon me for the suggestion — I would advise a house without 
a hall. We use our hall very little. Often wish it was a room. The 
"Teachers' Home" is a great thing, especially in the rural communities, 
where it is so hard to get board. Our great trouble here is getting some 
one suitable to run the house. (Cora E. Haddon, Liberty, S. C.) 

■^ ■*$*■ ♦^ "^* 

The "Teachers' Cottage" here is a frame building, ordinary weather board- 
ing and inside ceiling of the usual beaded ceiling; inside height about 12 feet, 
shingle roof. Painted white, with interior painted a light oak, overhead blue. 

The cottage was made from the old schoolhouse that was on the ground 
before the consolidation of the schools of the District, and the erection here 
of a nice brick school building. The old building contained two large rooms 
wnth a narrow hall of about eight feet. This hall w^,as made wider, and the 




Floor Plan of Teacher's Cottage, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 
Remodeled from Old Schoolhouse 



Page Forty-seven 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



South Carolina. 




Residence Furnished City Superintendent of Schools, Rock Hill, South Carolina 



two large rooms divided with partitions and the two rooms built new, and 
the back piazza. The old school building cost about $700 and the remodeling 
about $600. (See floor plans, page 47.) 

I consider the home very well suited for its purpose except for the lack 
of closet rooms. We teachers find the home quite convenient, and the Trustees 
and patrons are well pleased with the arrangement. (W. Y. Boyd, Principal, 
Mars Bluff, S. C.) 

♦■ ^ ^* ^ 

This is the only city school in the State that provides a home for the 
superintendent. Quite a number of the country districts and villages do this, 
but Rock Hill is a town of about 12,000 population with about 2,000 pupils in 
all the schools. 

The home was built quite a great many years ago. perhaps 20 years ago. 
It is a two-story Avood structure, with nine rooms, front and back halls, front, 
side and back porches. (See illustration above.) The rooms are each about 
15x15, except the kitchen, which is about 10x10. Bathroom with hot and cold 
water is upstairs. There is a large back yard and a large garden space, a 
good wood house, and a barn for horse and cow, etc. It is adjoining the Cen- 
tral school where I have my office. 

The Board has found that it is a good investment. In arranging the sal- 
ary the home is usually estimated at about $300 per year. The superintendents 
find it a great convenience not to have to look out for a home. Altogether, it 
seems a splendid plan for all concerned, and I think that other city schools 
would find it a good investment. (R. C. Burts, Superintendent Public Schools, 
Rock Hill, S. C.) 

<j* ♦♦♦ ^ ^* 

Several years ago the Eastover District consolidated with several neigh- 
boring districts, forming a graded school, using five hacks to bring the chil- 
dren to the school. The old school building was moved and remodeled into 
a commodious teachers' home of nine rooms. The home is nicely ceiled 
throughout, with front and back piazzas. The doors and windows are all 
screened, all windows also having blinds. The home is nicely painted inside 
and out. The home is located on two acres of ground very near the school- 
house. There is a demonstration plot, a shed for wagons and stock and a 
basketball ground. 

Page Forty-eight 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



The greatest good of the teachers' home is that it has In a large meas- 
ure, eliminated the constant change of teachers, which is death to any school. 
This idea carried out will revolutionize the educational interests of any- 
community. Teachers that remain for years become more and more identi- 
fied with the best interests of the community. 

May the day soon come when every community can have its own teach- 
ers' home right on the school grounds. I bid you God's speed in promulgat- 
ing this idea. (B. M. Cheatham, Eastover, S. C.) 

♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ 

One in a district in Marlborough County and one in Pickens County. 
County superintendent wishes he had more. 

Farlington County reports that the servant question is becoming so seri- 
ous in the South, that many of the women have to do all their own work, 
which makes it impossible for them to keep boarders, particularly if there 
are children in the family. These conditions are worse in the country than 
in town. One teacher reported that he would have to canvass the district 
again for a boarding place. Board obtained under such circumstances is a 
source of humiliation to the teacher and its effect too is felt on the feelings 
of the children toward the teacher. It makes them feel that teachers are 
Inferior beings permitted only on sufferance to live in their homes. For the 
first time this year Darlington County will have three teachers' homes in 
connection with the public schools. 

Dillon County will open their first teachers' home in one of the rural 
schools of the county. It is an old schoolhouse remodeled, painted, plastered, 
etc. A new schoolhouse has taken the place of this old one. This teach- 
ers' home will fill a long felt want in the community on account of the board- 
ing proposition. All schools in the county will be forced to furnish homes 
for teachers. 

Lancaster County has one for a colored school which gives the superin- 
tendent a home in the school dormitory. It is a growing sentiment, even in 
the rural districts, to prepare a home for the teacher in each district in 
order to keep the teacher in the community the year round, especially to 
look after the demonstration plots, the boys' corn clubs and the girls' tomato 
clubs. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

South Dakota. 

South Dakota has no law authorizing common school districts to build 
teachers' cottages. It would probably be a good thing for the state if we 
had such a law. However, the consolidated districts may build a teachers' 
residence, and some of therd are already doing so, but we have no such pro- 
visions as the State of Washington has for the building of cottages. (C. H. 
Lugg, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Pierre, S. D.) 

♦*♦ ^ <♦ •<♦ 

Charles Meek County. The school board in Kennedy Township paid for 
an addition to be built on to a small house, so the family living there might 
board the teacher. This addition then belonged to the house where built. 

Corson County. A room has been built in connection with the school- 
house in one of the rural communities, where the larger proportion of the 
population are Indians. This is to accommodate the teacher. It is not large, 
but the county superintendent remarks that it will do better than driving 
miles in the storms that we are so apt to have in this country. (U. S. Bureau 
of Education.) 

Tennessee. 

Irvin reports that it would be a great blessing to the schools if there 
were some teachers' homes. So often the teacher cannot get board at all 
satisfactory and sometimes they could not hold the best teachers for this rea- 
son. We have three such cottages owned by missionary boards where the 
teacher lives and it works fine. 



Page Forty-nine 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Tennessee. 

The boarcliug proposition is malciiig tlie teacliers' cottages a necessity. 
(Elm Wood.) Johnson County has some dormitories for the high school. 
"Hope the time will soon come." High school board furnishes principal of 
Dayton, Rhea County, with a home. 

Knox County furnishes cottages to each of the principals of the five agri- 
cultural high schools. It keeps the principals the year round and they also 
furnish them a helper on the farm of 15 acres. They find the plan works 
very well, in fact, is the only way to build up a community center about a 
school. "Our grammar schools have not been able to furnish homes, but expect 
to try this out in one or two consolidated schools next year." 

London County has one cottage furnished the principal free. This proved 
a great convenience for the principal this year. 

Fayetteville supports three buildings occupied by the teachers, owned by 
local school boards, but a small amount of rent is demanded for each build- 
ing. A nice garden lot makes these buildings very desirable. 

Lawrence County reports one teachers' home in connection with the 
county high school. The principal looks after the demonstration plots. The 
plan works admirably. 

Trenton County superintendent has advocated and urged that "pedogo- 
gians" or teachers' cottages, be built for many of our schools for the rea- 
son that oftentimes it is impossible to rent a dwelling house or get board in 
many country communities. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 



Texas. 



Many of our rural schools are building houses for their teachers. The 
next Biennial Keport of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction of 
this State will contain data relative to this subject. (W. F. Doughty, State 
Superintendent, Austin, Tex.) 




Typical Teachers' Cottages Near 
San Antonio, Texas 



Page Fifty 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



Two teachers' cottages in this county ; one a two-room cottage, the other 
a four-room cottage. (E. R. Haynes, County Judge, Lubbock, Tex.) 

♦♦♦ ♦*♦ ♦♦♦ ♦♦♦ 

Teacher's cottage built at Alief in District No. 46. (J. W. Lyle, County 
Superintendent, Houston, Texas.) 

♦*♦ **♦ *♦* *** 

We have fourteen teachers' cottages in the rural districts. They are 
three and four-room frame buildings. The best of them are built with 4 
rooms, 14 by 4, with hall running through. They have front porch and 
screened back porch with pantry on one end and bathroom on the other. The 
cost in this county is about $1,000. (Typical cottages are shown on page 
50.) 

In most cases we have a garden of from 1 to 3 acres with each cottage. 
We find that we can get and keep better teachers where they are provided a 
place to live. (P. F. Stewart, Superintendent of Public Instruction, San 
Antonio, Tex.) 

■•$•■ -^ "^ "^ 

As to what I think about teachers' cottages, I must say that in my opin- 
ion, and it has proven itself in my county, that the school can have no 
greater asset than a teachers' cottage on the school campus in connection 
with a large school garden as a part of the school equipment. (Typical 
Walker County views are shown on page 52. ) 

It is an easy matter -to get first-class married teachers for our schools 
where teachers' cottages are provided. And when once they are located, 
they stay with us during the vacation, and look after the school buildings 
and grounds, and become real active citizens of the community. 

Forty-five per cent of the teachers in Walker County, Texas, are Normal 
School graduates, about forty per cent hold State First grade certificates, and 
fifteen per cent other class certificates. Every teacher in the county has had 
professional training in a Normal school for teachers. This applies only to 
the white teachers. (J. C. Thomas, County Superintendent, Huntsville, Tex.) 

*> *> *> *> 

Harris County rents a teachers' home for the superintendent and the 
teachers board with the superintendent at $20 a month. Several county 
superintendents report that the plan attracts teachers who in turn protect the 
school property. Twenty-two counties support 72 cottages. Two are not 
used because they could not secure married men. One county reports they 
have kept the teachers three years on account of the cottages. Another 
reports that they have more applications for the position of teacher where 
they have a home. One cottage has already paid for itself by renting it 
to the teacher at a very nominal sum. 

Coleman County has remodeled an old school building in one of the 
rural districts and furnished it for the teachei', and the teacher is more than 
pleased with it and looks after the school property. Twenty cottages are 
used in Comal County, rent free. 

In Medina County in two districts, the old schoolhouses have been re- 
modeled and made into very neat and comfortable teachers' homes. The 
county superintendent reports, "It is a splendid idea for the rural school 
districts and the Taucy High School has two teachers' homes, one for the 
superintendent's family, and one for the three lady assistants. Labaca 
County reports 13 teachers' cottages that are furnished free to teachers and 
their families, and that they are all located in German and Bohemian com- 
munities in the rural school districts. Lubbock County reports two teachers' 
homes for rural teachers. The county considers them quite a help to the 
community that prefers a married man or woman to teach. They are given 
rent free. 

Bosque County reports one that is a great success and regrets that they 
do not have them all over the county, as the county superintendent feels 
that they will solve a great many of the rural troubles. They will prepare 



Page Fifty-one 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Texas. 




Teachers' Cottages Costing $500 to $750, Playground and School Garden, 
Walker County, Texas 

to build more. Portland County reports one district witli a tive-acre plot of 
ground, a one-room schoolliouse, a neat cottage of three rooms with neces- 
sary garden, stable, etc., and that they have an excellent young married man 
as teacher for $75 per month for eight months. His house rent and garden 
is free. The superintendent likes it and wishes more districts would adopt 
the plan. 

Wood County reports two cottages connected with secondary schools and 
that the plan works well. Benton County reports one in a consolidated dis- 
trict which was recently built. Falls County reports one that will be occu- 
pied this year. Milam County reports four furnished, rent free to the teach- 
ers and that the plan is more satisfactory. "The teachers are retained longer 
and hence are more useful as citizens. We are encouraging our people to 
erect more cottages." Victoria County reports one cottage not being occu- 
pied because men with families can do better than teach school. "Four 
cottages are used in Bell County by the teachers as residences. The plan 
is a signal success. Teachers with families have charge of these schools. 
The residences are an inducement and the best teachers are contracted for 
these schools. I believe it a very profitable investment in any school where 
more than one teacher is employed." Lee County was compelled to build a 
teacher's cottage in one district on account of scarcity of houses. "School 
funds were used for its construction. The people were agreed with the idea 
as they understood a proportion of their tax money was to go for payments 
on this residence as well as for the schoolhouse. The residence being a per- 
manent fixture, enables us to secure the services of more capable men for 

Page Fifty-ttvo 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



the school. We find we can receive more applicants for the principalship 
of that school than for any other place of corresponding value. The princi- 
pal applying for this school is guaranteed a residence with the rent deter- 
mined." 

Van Zandt County has three such cottages. The first one was built 
about five years ago from funds loaned by a patron in the community. He 
is to be paid back from rent on the cottage paid by the teacher who occu- 
pies it. The teacher pays $10 per month. The cottage is located on the 
campus. This school employes two teachers. The plan is popular. The 
last year before this cottage was built, the teacher who was a married man, 
could not get a home in the community, so he drove eight miles each morn- 
ing and afternoon in going from, his home to the school. Another was built 
years ago by the community from money donated by the citizens. The 
teacher pays a small rental here and they are enabled to get a married man 
for principal. This school employs three teachers. The third community has 
just finished a cottage erected by funds that were left from a bond issue 
after erecting a two-room school building. The teacher will pay a small 
rental here. The community has employed a married man as principal of 
the school. Two years ago they had a married man who could not get a 
home in the community, so he rode a bicycle six miles and back each day. 
He rented him a cottage in a town of about 2,500 inhabitants, which was 
six miles from the school. The plan has proved a success in each instance 
in this county where it has been tried. 

Hall County reports four common school districts furnishing cottages 
rent free to teachers and every place is proving successful. "Teachers stay 
more than one year at these schools and are better satisfied. The cottages 
are near the schoolhouse and school property is not molested on that account. 
Our cottages are remodeled schoolrooms and are in districts where new 
school buildings have been built. The old school buildings are usually sold 
for a song, but with a small outlay can be made into comfortable cottages. I 
consider them worth a great deal to a community in class of teachers this 
feature attracts." Hopkins County reports one built by private subscription 
and rented to the teachers at a reasonable rate per month. The proceeds 
are used for the further maintenance of the school. The district has owned 
the house for eight years and the rent has more than paid for same. The 
district has been able to secure better teachers and more experienced teach- 
ers than they otherwise could have done. Scurry County reports one cottage 
in district No. 10. The house was purchased by the district and placed upon 
the school site so that the district would always have a convenient home 
for the teacher. Seymour County has two teachers' cottages and claim it 
pays. (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Utah. 

Such a plan would prove a great stimulus to the rural schools. Jordan 
consolidated district has just completed a six-room modern cottage for the 
principal of the high school on the high school campus. This is furnished 
to the principal free of charge. Two other cottages are built on this cam- 
pus for which low rental is charged. Carbon County reports three teachers' 
homes erected by the school board, but for which a reasonable rental is 
charged. Four or five teachers usually occupy these cottages and in some 
instances they have a housekeeper to do their work. The erection of these 
cottages has the effect of making the teaching force more permanent. (U. S. 
Bureau of Education.) 

Vermont. 

Very little seems to have been accomplished in Vermont, but one super- 
intendent says, "I have taught for 17 years and can say that I have had all 
sorts of trouble in securing a place either for boarding or for housekeeping. 
I thinlv you have a good idea and hope you will bring something out of it." 
(U. S. Bureau of Education.) 



Page Fiftij-fhree 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 

Virginia. 

Five county superiuteudents report it very difficult to secure good board- 
ing places in tlieir county. Lunenburg County is impressed with the plan 
and is putting forth an effort to build some this coming year. Fluvanna 
County regards the suggestion as a good one. Henrico County thinks the 
time will soon arrive when we will find it absolutely necessary to have it. An 
agricultural high school near Appomatox furnishes the teacher in charge 
with a home. Albemarle County reports it is almost impossible to secure 
decent boarding places for teachers in some instances. Spottsylvania and 
Stafford state that teachers' cottages are well worth considering when the 
difficulty of securing good board is so great. In Wise County, in the min- 
ing town of Sutherland, where it was hard to get board for teachers, they 
fitted up a room on the second fioor so that the two teachers could board 
themselves and stay in the building. Williamsburg has plans on foot for a 
school cottage to he used by the colored teachers for teaching housekeeping, 
cooking, etc., as well as a home for these teachers. (U. S. Bureau of Edu- 
cation.) 

Washington. 

Washington is yet far in the lead in the number of teachers' cottages. 
More than 100 cottages have been built and they are popular everywhere. 
(Pictures of four cottages are reproduced on Page 55.) 

The provisions of the Washington law on this subject are as follows : 

COMMUNITY PURPOSES— BUILDINGS. 
"460. Wider Use of School Buildings — Erection of Teachers' Cottages — 
That school boards in each district of the second-class and third-class may 
provide for the free, comfortable and convenient use of the school property 
to promote and facilitate frequent meetings and association of the people in 
discussion, study, improvement, recreation and other community purposes, 
and may acquire, assemble and house material for the dissemination of in- 
formation of use and interest to the farm, the home and the community, and 
facilities for experiment and study, especially in matters pertaining to the 
growing of crops, the improvement and handling of live stock, the market- 
ing of farm products, the planning and construction of farm buildings, the 
subjects of household economies, home industries, good roads, and commun- 
ity vocations and industries ; and may call meetings for the consideration 
and discussion of .any such matters, employ a special supervisor, or leader, 
if need be, and provide suitable dwellings and accommodations for teachers, 
supervisors and necessary assistants. 

461. Districts May Erect Communal Assembly Place — That each school 
district of the second- or third-class, by itself or in combination with any 
other district or districts, shall have power, when in the judgment of the 
school board it shall be deemed expedient, to reconstruct, remodel, or build 
schoolhouses, and to erect, purchase, lease or otherwise acquire other im- 
provements and real and personal property, and establish a communal assem- 
bly place and appurtenances, and supply the same with suitable and con- 
venient furnishings and facilities for the uses mentioned in section 1 of this 
act. 

462. Commission to Pass Upon Plan — That plans of any district or com- 
bination of districts for the carrying out of the powers granted by this act 
shall be submitted to and approved by the board of supervisors composed of 
seven members, as follows : The State Superintendent of Public Instruction ; 
the head of the extension department of Washington State College: the head 
of the extension department of the University of Washington ; the county 
superintendent of schools of the county in which such facilities are pro- 
posed to be located ; these four to choose a fifth member from such county, 
and a sixth and seventh member, one of whom shall be a woman, from the 
district or districts concerned." 

Page Fifty-jour 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



Cottage at Blue Creek, 
Walla Walla County 




Cottage at Snoqualmie — 

Five Rooms, Electric Light, 

Hot and Cold Water, 'Phone, 

Motor-Driven Washing 

Machine 



Small Cottage, 

Valley Grove District, 

Walla Walla County 




Typical Teachers' Cottages in the State of Washington 

Page Fifty-jive 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



Washington. 

The following expressions of opinion from county superintendents in 
Washington, quoted by Mrs. Preston, speak for themselves: 

"They seem to be a necessity in these districts. I believe it will be a 
step toward better harmony in the districts, better homes for teachers, and 
better school work because of comfort, independence, tenure, etc." (Delia 
L. Keeler, Whatcom County.) 

"I believe it is the solution to many of the rural school questions. It 
will give the services of teachers who will feel that they are a part of the 
community in which they live. Many teachers 'stay' in the community, but 
few really ilve' there." (Wm. U. Neely, Lincoln County.) 

"Much better teachers can be obtained for less salary ; teachers who 
wish to live in a cottage usually are moi'e anxious to understand the com- 
munity and its problems as well as its opportunities ; they are much more 
likely to remain in their positions as they grow more necessary to it." (Mrs. 
Lena Kohne Pratt, Island County.) 

"It is one of the great factors in the solution of the problems of the 
rural school. It aids in securing a more permanent position ; gives the 
teacher privacy and independence; and affords more liberty in acknowledg- 
ment of social duties." (Mrs. Lizzie Jones, Snohomish County.) 

"One of the best investments that a school district can possibly make. 
It tends to make the teacher more permanent, helps both teacher and school 
in the matter of social center work. Every rural school should possess one. 
One clerk tells me it was sort of an experiment, as the teacher had such a 
hard time finding a boarding place. The plan worked fine, and he now 
says : 'We would as soon think about getting along without the schoolhouse 
as the cottage.' " (O. H. Kerns, Skagit County.) 

West Virginia. 

There is a cottage on the school ground at Sherrard. It was the resi- 
dence of the owner of the property, purchased for the Sherrard Consolidated 
and High School. (Illustrated below.) 

The cottage was used by the first principal, 1911-12 and 1912-13. In 
1913-14 one of the high school teachers and her brother (a student) kept 
house. Since 1914, it has been rented to a merchant for residence, but he 




Consolidated School and Teacher's Cottage, Sherrard, West Virginia 

Page Fifty-six 



WHAT HAS BEEN DONE 



has been asked to vacate, and it is the plan of those in charge to malve the 
cottage more serviceable to the school. Probably two of the high school 
teachers will use it the rest of the year. 

The cottage has been of no special benefit to the school so far as getting 
and keeping better teachers. It should be, and I think the time is near 
when every school will have a home for the teachers. (A. F. Shroyer, Prin- 
cipal, Consolidated and High School, Sherrard, W. Va.) 

**« *> *}t *> 

Two of the county superintendents state the boarding proposition is a 
serious one with them. One of them remarks he "never heard of such a 
thing." Two county superintendents "only wish we could report some." Two 
others reply that they think it is a good move. The union district at Sher- 
rard has a five-room cottage. It is one of those communities where each 
man lives in his own house and no man has one for rent. They have owned 
this cottage for four years. The following very interesting experience is 
related : "The first principal of the school was a married man with a family 
of four. It was just suited to liis needs. He had one-eighth acre of land 
for a garden, where he worked out some valuable lessons in agriculture and 
fruit budding and grafting. Unfortunately, he died at the close of his sec- 
ond year and a single man was hired to fill the vacancy. The latter did 
not have any use for the house, so it was rented to an outsider at eight dol- 
lars a month, a fair return for the investment. Since that time it has been 
occupied, but we still hold it in reserve for the future, when we may hire 
a married man." (U. S. Bureau of Education.) 

Wisconsin. 

Diificulty of securing good boarding places is mentioned by several of 
the county superintendents. They expect to build a teachers' home in Polk 
County. Some of the superintendents state they must develop some plan 
soon to relieve the situation. One wishes they had cottages now. (U. S. 
Bureau of Education.) 

Wyoming. 

As yet Wyoming has nothing to report In the matter of erection of 
teachers' cottages. The subject has been under discussion somewhat here 
and doubtless it will not be long before it will be necessary to follow the 
example of some of the other states in this regard, but so far the practice 
has not beeq put into use in this state. (Edith K. O. Clark, State Superin- 
tendent, Cheyenne, Wyo.) 



Page Fifty-seven 



TEACHERS' COTTAGES 



REFERENCES. 

Some of the more important articles upon the subject are : 

Teachers' Cottages in Washington. Josephine Corliss Preston, Bulletin No. 
27, 1915. Olympia, Wash. 

Cottage homes for teachers. Southern School Journal, 24 :11-12, May, 1913. 

Southern School Journal, 24:11-13, July, 1913. 

Flemington, Mary B. The Teachers' Boarding Place. American School Board 
Journal, 50 :1S, February, 1915. 

Plomes for Rural Teachers. North Carolina Education, 9 :18, March, 1915. 

Pennybacker, Mrs. Percy V. Need of Teachers' Homes. Ladies' Home Jour- 
nal, 32:25, February, 1915. Illus. 

Teacherage. Ladies' Home Journal, 31 :5, September, 1914. 

Wood, Mrs. Mary I. The School Manse in Reality. Ladies' Home Journal, 
32:25, February, 1915. 

Other publications which Avill be found particularly helpful in 
this connection arc : 

Rural Schoolhouses and Grounds. Fletcher B. Dresslar, Bulletin, 1914, No. 
12, U. S. Bureau of Education. 

Tree Planting on Rural School Grounds. Wm. L. Hall, Farmers' Bulletin, 
No. 134, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

The Farragut School. A. C. Monahan and Adams Phillips, Bulletin 1913, No. 
49, U. S. Bureau of Education. 

The Status of Rural Education in the United States. A. C. Monahan, Bulle- 
tin 1913, No. 8, U. S. Bureau of Education. 

County Unit Organization for the Administration of Rural Schools. A. C. 
Monahan, Bulletin 1914, No. 44, U. S. Bureau of Education. 



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